Israel yesterday warned residents of south Lebanon “not to return” to their homes as Hezbollah said it launched missiles across the border on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
In cities around Israel, markets were closed and public transportation halted as observant Jews fasted and prayed.
However, with the country at war, soldiers remained engaged in combat in Hamas-run Gaza and in southern Lebanon, a traditional Hezbollah stronghold, amid a firestorm of criticism over the wounding of four UN peacekeepers.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“For your own protection, do not return to your homes until further notice... Do not go south; anyone who goes south may put his life at risk,” Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X in a message addressed to south Lebanese.
The war between Israel and Hezbollah has since Sept. 23 killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, according to a tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, and forced more than 1 million to flee their homes.
Hezbollah yesterday said it had launched missiles at an Israeli army base near the northern city of Haifa.
In a statement the group said its fighters were “targeting the explosives factory there with a salvo of ... missiles.”
Air raid sirens sounded in northern Israel, with the Israeli military saying it had intercepted a projectile launched from Lebanon.
Israel began pounding Gaza shortly after its worst attacks from Hamas militants on Oct. 7 last year, and it launched a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon on Sept. 30.
After the Yom Kippur holiday, attention is likely to turn again to Israel’s expected retaliation against Iran, which launched around 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday last week.
On Friday, Israel faced a severe diplomatic backlash over what it said was a “hit” on a UN peacekeeping position in Lebanon.
Two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were hurt in the second such incident in two days, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said on Friday.
The Israeli military said its soldiers had responded with fire to “an immediate threat” about 50m from the UN mission’s base in Naqura.
However, Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sean Clancy said it was “not an accidental act,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said he believed the UN peacekeepers had been “deliberately targeted.”
Ireland and France are major contributors to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.
As Israel faced a chorus of condemnation from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Western allies and others, its military pledged to carry out a “thorough review.”
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan,” but stressed that the nation was willing to work with Beijing on issues of mutual interest. “The Republic of China has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Lai said in his first Double Ten National Day address outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.” “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he said at the event marking the 113th National Day of
SPEECH IMPEDIMENT? The state department said that using routine celebrations or public remarks as a pretext for provocation would undermine peace and stability Beijing’s expected use of President William Lai’s (賴清德) Double Ten National Day speech today as a pretext for provocative measures would undermine peace and stability, the US Department of State said on Tuesday. Taiwanese officials have said that China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai’s speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims. A state department spokesperson said it could not speculate on what China would or would not do. “However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering