UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon warned on Saturday against a "catastrophic" regional conflict as Israeli forces battled Hezbollah and Hamas militants on two fronts, on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Israel has faced a fierce diplomatic backlash over the injuries suffered by five Blue Helmets serving in south Lebanon.

Lebanon's health ministry said on Saturday that Israeli air strikes on three sites had killed at least 15 people, raising an earlier toll.

Israel had earlier told residents of south Lebanon not to return home, as its troops fought Hezbollah militants in a war that has killed more than 1,200 people since September 23.

More than a million people have been forced to flee their homes, Lebanese authorities say.

Hezbollah said it had fired missiles into northern Israel, where air raid sirens sounded and the military said it had intercepted a projectile.

The Iran-backed militants have stepped up their attacks on targets in and around Israel's main northern city of Haifa.

Israel's military said Hezbollah fired about 320 projectiles into Israel over the weekend of Yom Kippur, which ended at nightfall.

It also said roughly 280 "terror targets" were attacked in Lebanon and Gaza over the same period.

For the third time, it declared a "closed military area" along the Lebanese border in northern Israel.

Such measures since late September have preceded ground operations inside Lebanon.

In an interview with AFP, Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the United Nations peacekeeping mission, Unifil, said he feared an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah could soon spiral "into a regional conflict with catastrophic impact for everyone".

There is "no military solution", Tenenti said.

The UN mission said five peacekeepers had been wounded during fighting in south Lebanon in two days, and Tenenti said "a lot of damage" had been caused to its posts there.

But he added: "There was a unanimous decision to stay because it's important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the Security Council."

Around Israel, markets were closed and public transport halted as observant Jews fasted and prayed on Yom Kippur.

After the holiday, attention is likely to turn again to Israel's promised retaliation against Iran, which launched around 200 missiles at Israel on October 1.

Tehran said the barrage was retaliation for the killing of top militants and an Iranian general.

Israeli forces have been at war in Gaza since Hamas militants on October 7 last year carried out the worst-ever attack on Israel.

Hezbollah, saying it was acting as a "support" front for Hamas, had been exchanging cross-border fire with Israel for almost a year.

But on September 30 Israel began a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon after intensifying air strikes on targets there.

On Friday, Israel faced criticism from the United Nations, its Western allies and others over what it said was a "hit" on a UN peacekeeping position in Lebanon.

Two Sri Lankan Blue Helmets were hurt in the second such incident in two days, UNIFIL said Friday.

Israel's military said soldiers had responded to "an immediate threat" around 50 metres from the Unifil base in Naqura, and pledged to carry out a "thorough review".

The Irish military's chief of staff, Sean Clancy, said it was "not an accidental act", and French President Emmanuel Macron said he believed the peacekeepers had been "deliberately targeted".

Both countries are troop contributors to Unifil.

On Saturday, 40 contributing nations said in a joint statement that they "strongly condemn recent attacks" on the peacekeepers.

Efforts to negotiate an end to the Lebanon war have so far failed.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his government would ask the UN Security Council to issue a new resolution calling for a "full and immediate ceasefire".

But Jordan called for tougher measures and an end to "impunity" for Israel. It said the UN's Chapter 7 must be enacted "to force" Israeli compliance with international law.

Macron repeated his call for a ceasefire and said Hezbollah must "immediately stop" attacking Israel.