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Attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon ‘unacceptable’, says Italy’s Meloni

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Attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon ‘unacceptable’, says Italy’s Meloni

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for the strengthening of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, during a visit to Beirut.

The premier decried attacks against UNIFIL, whose forces have been targeted by Israeli troops in recent weeks.

“Only by strengthening UNIFIL while maintaining its impartiality will we be able to turn the page,” Meloni said during a joint news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday.

“I repeat that I consider targeting UNIFIL is unacceptable,” she added in reference to Israeli attacks involving the mission’s positions and troops. “I ask once again that all parties strive to ensure at all times that the safety of each of these soldiers is guaranteed.”

Meloni, who is regarded as a strong ally of Israel, is the first head of state or government to visit Lebanon since an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah last month. She said that after her visit to Beirut, she would hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Italy has about 1,000 peacekeepers serving in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, which has come under repeated fire by Israeli forces.

Five peacekeepers were injured in a series of incidents last week. In the latest, the UN force accused Israeli troops of breaking through a gate and entering one of its positions.

Meloni and Mikati agreed that a diplomatic solution must take precedence over violence, Mikati said during the news conference.

“What is happening today is a lesson for all Lebanese to stay out of regional conflicts,” Mikati said.

‘Deliberate’ attacks on UNIFIL

Earlier on Friday, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said the force’s peacekeepers are maintaining their positions despite “demands” to move from the Israeli military.

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“We’ve been targeted several times, five times under deliberate attack,” he said via videolink from Beirut.

Tenenti said a unanimous decision was taken by UNIFIL’s 50 contributing countries and the UN Security Council to hold its positions and continue efforts to monitor the conflict and ensure aid gets to civilians.

The Israeli military “has repeatedly targeted our positions, endangering the safety of our troops, in addition to Hezbollah launching rockets toward Israel from near our positions, which also puts our peacekeepers in danger”, he added.

Tenenti said deteriorating security in recent weeks due to the fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces had forced UNIFIL, which has about 10,000 personnel, to suspend most, but not all, of its patrols near the Lebanon-Israel border, also known as the Blue Line.

“We are seeing at the moment hundreds of trajectories, and sometimes more, crossing the Blue Line each day, forcing our peacekeepers to spend extended hours in shelters to ensure their safety, which remains our top priority,” he said.

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New phase of war?

Meanwhile, fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli soldiers, who entered southern Lebanon more than two weeks ago, continued.

The Lebanese group said on Friday that it is entering a new phase in its fight against invading Israeli troops, saying its fighters are working according to “plans prepared in advance” to battle soldiers in several parts of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah added that it has introduced new weapons over the past days.

A statement from the group’s operations room said Hezbollah’s fighters have used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones for the first time.

A short time later, the Israeli army said it was calling up an additional reserve brigade for operational missions in northern Israel.

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Hezbollah also said it launched an attack “with a squadron of attack drones on gatherings of enemy soldiers in the occupied city of Safed” in northern Israel after attacks on villages in southern Lebanon.

It pledged continued “support” for the Palestinian people after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.

Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel for more than a year in solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip.

During that time, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said, more than 2,000 people have been killed across the country in Israeli attacks. More than 1 million people have been displaced from their towns and villages in eastern and southern Lebanon.

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Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

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Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.
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Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

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Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

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The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

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Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

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Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

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Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

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Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.

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As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.

EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.

Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.

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“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”

On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.

“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.

“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”

Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”

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“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.

When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”

On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.

Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.

“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.

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Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET

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