Palestinians retrieve bodies after Israel bombs Deir al-Balah shelter

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday hit out at the United Nations for failing to prevent Israel from firing at its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

At least five UNIFIL peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as fighting ranges between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Erdogan said the UN was also to blame for failing to sanction Israel over its wars with Hezbollah and with Hamas in Gaza.

"The image of the UN which cannot protect its own personnel is shameful and worrying," Erdogan, a fierce critic of Israel, said in a televised address.

"Frankly, we ask ourselves what the (UN) Security Council is waiting for to stop Israel.

"Can you believe it? The Israeli tanks penetrate into the UNIFIL zone, attack peacekeeping soldiers, even wounding some of them, but the UN Security Council decides to just watch all this criminality from its stands - that's what we call powerlessness."

About 200 demonstrators protesting Israel's war in Gaza were arrested in a sit-in outside the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, police said.

The protesters chanted "Let Gaza live!" and "Up up with liberation, down down with occupation!" in front of the stock exchange's landmark building in lower Manhattan.

:The reason we’re here is to demand that the US government stop sending bombs to Israel and stop profiting off of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza," said Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace, the group that organized the demonstration.

"Because what’s been happening for the last year is that Israel is using U.S. bombs to massacre communities in Gaza while simultaneously weapons manufacturers on Wall Street are seeing their stock prices skyrocket."

A handful of counter-protesters waved Israeli flags and tried to shout down the pro-Palestinian chants.

hinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on all parties involved in tensions between Israel and Iran on Monday to exercise caution and avoid escalating the situation.

In a phone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Wang also urged Israel to ensure the safety of personnel of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a foreign ministry statement said.

He also reiterated Beijing's position on the Gaza conflict, calling for an immediate, complete and permanent ceasefire.

Katz said that during the call he had "clarified that Iran is the primary source for undermining stability in the Middle East" and said that Iran poses a direct threat through its proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected accusations that Israeli troops had deliberately targeted UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon as "completely false" and repeated a call for them to be withdrawn from combat zones.

He said the military did its utmost to avoid harming UNIFIL personnel, while striking Hezbollah fighters. "But the best way to assure the safety of UNIFIL personnel is for UNIFIL to heed Israel's request and to temporarily get out of harm's way."

Lebanon's health ministry said the death toll from Israel's strike on the majority-Christian northern village of Aito has risen to 22, with DNA tests being conducted to identify body parts.

"The Israeli enemy strike on the village of Aito... killed in a preliminary toll 21 people and injured eight. DNA tests are being conducted to determine the identity of body parts recovered at the strike site," the ministry said, referring to a village in the Christian-majority Zgharta district.

The official National News Agency said Israel targeted a "residential apartment" in the village.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns the "large number of civilian casualties in the intensifying Israeli campaign in northern Gaza," his spokesperson said on Monday.

"He strongly urges all parties to the conflict to comply with international humanitarian law and emphasizes that civilians must be respected and protected at all times," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Israeli attacks on the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, are contrary to international humanitarian law and must stop at once, Italy, Britain, France and Germany said on Monday.

In a joint statement, the four nations reaffirmed "the essential stabilizing role" played by UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, adding that Israel and other parties had to ensure the safety of the peacekeepers at all times.

The UNIFIL mission, which includes hundreds of European soldiers, has said it has repeatedly come under attack from the Israeli military in recent days. Israel has called on the U.N. to move troops out of the area as it targets Hezbollah forces. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel will attack Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut.

"We will continue to hit Hezbollah in all parts of Lebanon - even in Beirut," he said during a visit to the military base hit by a Hezbollah drone strike on Sunday. 

An Israeli airstrike has killed at least eight Palestinians and wounded many others in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, medics told Reuters on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to strike Hezbollah without mercy following a deadly drone strike on a military base in Israel, and retaliation would extend to targets in Beirut.

"We will continue to mercilessly strike Hezbollah in all parts of Lebanon - including Beirut. All this according to operational considerations. We have proven it recently and we will continue to prove it in the days to come," he said while visiting the military base hit by a Hezbollah drone on Sunday night.

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including a 17-year-old teenager, in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday.

In a statement, the Ramallah-based health ministry said the two Palestinians were "shot dead by the occupation army".

The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said Israeli soldiers surrounded a house in the Jenin refugee camp adjacent to the city earlier Monday.

"The occupation (Israeli) soldiers climbed on the roofs of the houses and started shooting at anything that moved, resulting in the martyrdom of a minor and a young man in his 20s," he told AFP.

شُهداء جِنين اليوم :
الشّهِيد بإذن الله : محمود أبو الرُّب
الشّهيد بإذن الله : ريان إبراهيم السَّيد pic.twitter.com/RvH7SeIgpf

— 𓂆 (@EslamHjooj) October 14, 2024

The United Nations human rights office said on Monday it was appalled by more than a week of heavy Israeli strikes on northern Gaza where it said tens of thousands of civilians are trapped without food or supplies.

"In the shadow of the escalation of hostilities across the Middle East, the Israeli military appears to be cutting off North Gaza completely from the rest of the Gaza Strip and conducting hostilities with absolute disregard for the lives and security of Palestinian civilians," the rights office said.

It added in a statement that it had received reports that Israeli forces had erected sand mounds at a key juncture, effectively "sealing off North Gaza" and firing on those attempting to flee.

Millions of Israelis rushed to shelters on Monday as sirens sounded across central Israel in response to projectiles fired from Lebanon, the military said.

The military said shortly afterwards that three projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, and that all of them had been intercepted. Israeli fighter jets struck the launcher from which the projectiles were fired, it added.

It said no injuries had been reported.

Situation in Tel Aviv pic.twitter.com/5V8jaNyJ9Z

— Arya - آریا (@AryJeay) October 14, 2024

China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, called on all parties involved in tensions between Israel and Iran on Monday to exercise caution and avoid escalating the situation.

In a phone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Wang urged Israel to ensure the safety of personnel of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a foreign ministry statement said.

He also reiterated Beijing's position on the Gaza conflict, calling for an immediate, complete and permanent ceasefire.

The Israeli army on Monday said air raid sirens were activated across central Israel, including the commercial hub of Tel Aviv, as projectiles were fired across the border from Lebanon.

"Sirens sounded in a number of areas in central Israel due to projectiles fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory," the army said in a statement.

Two of the missiles were reportedly intercepted and one landed.

⚡️BREAKING:

Footage right now from Tel Aviv, Israel after missile(s) were fired from Lebanon. Nearly 2 millions settlers are now hiding and heading to shelters in Tel Aviv & surrounding areas.

Israeli HFC: Sirens have been activated in more than 182 locations throughout Israel. pic.twitter.com/5cv4rYZshB

— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) October 14, 2024

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday told his Israeli counterpart that "humanitarian disasters" in Gaza should end, state media said.

"Humanitarian disasters in Gaza should not continue and...countering violence with violence cannot truly address the legitimate concerns of all parties," Wang told Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz during a phone call, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon said on Monday its citizens were strongly encouraged to leave the country "now", adding that additional flights the embassy organised for its citizens travelling out of Beirut would not continue indefinitely.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi slammed as "a disaster" on Monday what he called US obstruction of the United Nations Security Council in relation to the wars in Lebanon and Gaza.

In a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Araghchi welcomed efforts by China, a permanent member of the council, to "stop the warmongering and the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel)" in Gaza and Lebanon and described the "inaction of the UN Security Council due to the obstruction of the United States as a disaster".

The UK government on Monday announced sanctions on top Iranian military figures after Iran's October 1 missile attack on arch-foe Israel.

Among those hit with an assets freeze and travel ban are army commander-in-chief Abdolrahim Mousavi and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence chief Mohammad Kazemi, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Hezbollah said its fighters were battling Israeli troops inside a south Lebanese border village on Monday, and that they had launched a guided missile at an Israeli troop carrier in the same area.

Hezbollah fighters "are engaged in violent clashes with the Israeli enemy forces... in the village of Ayta al-Shaab with... machine guns, rockets and artillery shells," the group said, later adding it targeted an "Israeli troop carrier with a guided missile" in the village.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told his US counterpart Lloyd Austin that Israel would deliver a strong response to Hezbollah after the Lebanese armed group struck an Israeli army base killing four soldiers.

Gallant spoke to Austin overnight and "highlighted the severity of the attack and the forceful response that would be taken against Hezbollah", the minister's office said in a statement.

The Lebanese Red Cross says at least 18 were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the north Lebanon village of Aitou.

غارة إسرائيلية استهدفت منطقة ايطو في قضاء #زغرتا pic.twitter.com/DgcGElFcEy

— AL Jadeed Tv (@AlJadeed_TV) October 14, 2024

Iran said Monday it currently sees "no grounds" for its indirect talks with the United States via intermediary Oman, citing the crisis in the Middle East.

Iran said in June that it had held indirect talks with the United States via Oman, despite having no diplomatic relations with its foe.

"Currently we don't see any ground for these talks, until we can get past the current crisis," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Oman's capital Muscat.

The process, he said, had been halted "due to the specific conditions of the region".

Five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the north Lebanese village of Aito in an initial death toll, Lebanese media reported.

It was the first time the area was hit in over a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

An Israeli strike hit an east Lebanon town as an aid convoy drove through it Tuesday, injuring one of its drivers, a governor and the state news agency said.

The governor of Baalbek, Bachir Khodr, on X reported "an Israeli strike very close to an aid convoy as it drove through the town of Ain" on its way to Ras Baalbek.

He posted a picture from the back window of the car he was in, showing a huge column of smoke billowing up into the sky dozens of metres (yards) behind it. "The driver of the truck driving directly behind us was injured," he added.

Israeli strikes hit Ain during "the passage of a convoy consisting of three trucks" heading towards the town of Ras Baalbek, said the National News Agency (NNA).

"One of the aid trucks heading to Ras Baalbek was damaged as a result of the blowback of the strike in Ain, which led to the injury of the truck driver".

Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh told AFP that the convoy was carrying "humanitarian aid from the Lebanese government". It "was travelling to the area accompanied by the Lebanese Red Cross with agreement from the United Nations," he said.

The convoy was made up of five trucks, and carried aid from several countries including the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Two had previously unloaded goods in Baalbek, NNA said.

The number of soldiers who are in critical condition as a result of Hezbollah's drone attack on Binyamina on Sunday has risen to eight, the Israeli military said.

Four soldiers were confirmed dead with at least another 70 wounded.

France on Monday rejected demands made by Israel's prime minister for U.N. peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, to pull back from its position.

"The protection of peacekeepers is an obligation incumbent on all parties", the foreign ministry in Paris said.

An Israeli airstrike has reportedly targeted a residential building in Aito in north Lebanon's Zgharta district.

It is the first time the area has been hit since the start of the war. It is still unclear if there are any casualties.

مراسلة الجديد: غارة إسرائيلية استهدفت منطقة ايطو في قضاء زغرتا pic.twitter.com/PJGokmkIA7

— Al Jadeed News (@ALJADEEDNEWS) October 14, 2024

The Israeli military said it intercepted two drones approaching from Syria on Monday.

"A short while ago, two UAVs that approached Israeli territory from Syria were successfully intercepted by the IAF (air force). The UAVs were intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory," the military said in a statement.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday said there would be "no withdrawal" of the UN peacekeeping force from southern Lebanon after Israeli attacks and calls to leave.

Spain condemns Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call on Sunday for the force to pull back "because there will be no withdrawal of UNIFIL", Sanchez told a forum in Barcelona.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday urged other members of the European Union to respond to Madrid and Ireland's request to suspend the bloc's free trade agreement with Israel over its actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

For months, both Spain and Ireland have been in talks with other EU countries who want a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement on the basis that Israel may be breaching the agreement's human rights clause.

The World Health Organization said on X on Monday that the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign had started in central Gaza.

Aid groups carried out a first round of vaccinations last month, after a baby was partially paralysed by the type 2 polio virus in August, in the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

One boy was shot dead by Israeli forces in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Monday, Al Araby TV reported.

UN Refugee Chief Filippo Grandi has warned that "many more" people will be displaced in Lebanon and some will move to other countries if Israeli airstrikes continue in the country.

Hezbollah said it shelled Israeli troops inside a south Lebanon village on Monday, after earlier saying it targeted Israeli soldiers elsewhere along the border.

Hezbollah fighters targeted "a gathering of Israeli enemy soldiers in the south of Maroun al-Ras with artillery shells", a statement from the Iran-backed Lebanese group said.

Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 42,289 Palestinians and wounded 98,684 since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Monday.

At least one of many rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel on Monday landed in Netanya, a city north of Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah later said it targeted a military base in Bayt Lid, a small town in the occupied West Bank.

Sirens sounded in central Israel due to a number of projectiles fired from Lebanon, the Israeli military said, which Hezbollah says is in response to Israel's continued aggression in Lebanon.

⚡️Exact location of enemy AD systems in Netanya pic.twitter.com/lD0oHfjtqk

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) October 14, 2024

Hezbollah says it targeted an Israeli naval base near the northern port city of Haifa on Monday with a salvo of rockets, in response to Israel's continued aggression on Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met in Muscat on Monday with Mohammed Abdelsalam, a senior official from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement, according to his office.

The foreign ministry released pictures of the pair holding talks during Araghchi's visit to the Omani capital, the latest in a series of diplomatic trips in the region following Israel's vow to retaliate against an Iranian missile attack.

Hezbollah said its fighters fired artillery rounds at Israeli troops attempting an "infiltration" into south Lebanon on Monday, while also targeting soldiers elsewhere.

"During an enemy infantry force's attempted infiltration into Lebanese territory" near the border village of Markaba, Hezbollah fighters targeted the force "with artillery shells", a statement said, adding fighters targeted soldiers elsewhere with rockets, including in south Lebanon's Labbouneh area.

Israel's army chief said Monday a Hezbollah drone strike on a military training base that killed at least four soldiers at the weekend was "difficult and painful".

"We are at war, and an attack on a training base on the home front is difficult and the results are painful," Lieutenant Geneal Herzi Halevi told soldiers during a visit to the Golani Brigade training base that was hit Sunday night in the area of Binyamina, south of the city of Haifa.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Monday denounced as "completely unacceptable" a series of Israeli attacks that have injured United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

"The 27 (EU) members agreed on asking Israeli to stop attacking UNIFIL," Borrell told reporters ahead of a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Luxembourg. "It's completely unacceptable attacking United Nations troops," he said.

Attacks by Israel on the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, are "unacceptable" and contrary to U.N. rules, Spain's Foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Monday.

"It is contrary to what we expect from any member state of the United Nations, which is ultimately an organisation that protects world peace," he told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers held in Luxembourg.

EU countries, led by Italy, France and Spain, have thousands of troops in the 10,000-strong peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, which has said it has repeatedly come under attack from Israeli forces in recent days. Israel has called on the U.N. to move the troops out of the combat zone.

Albares said only U.N. can order the withdrawal of UNIFIL.