An Israeli escalation against Lebanese militants Hezbollah in the southern Lebanon could soon spiral out of control, a spokesman for UN peacekeepers in Lebanon said on Saturday.
UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told news agency AFP that it may "very soon" turn into a regional conflict with "catastrophic impact for everyone." He also called for a diplomatic solution to control the heightened tensions as Israeli forces battle Hezbollah and Hamas fighters on two fronts on their holiest day.
Earlier today, Israel said that Hezbollah fired approximately 320 projectiles towards Israeli civilains on the holiest holiday for the Jewish people, Yom Kippur. It also said that sirens were sounded in the city of Haifa and the surrounding areas.
"Throughout the weekend of Yom Kippur, approximately 320 projectiles that were fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation crossed from Lebanon into Israel," the Israeli military said in a statement.
In another statement, the Israeli military also stated that two projectiles were identifoed crossing from northern Gaza towards the city of Ashkelon. However,it fell in an unpopulated area.
Earlier today, it also said that multiple rocket launches had been identified since the beginning of the Yom Kippur fast, including two UAVs that crossed into central Israel.
"The UAVs were monitored from the moment they crossed the Lebanese border. A hit on a civilian building was identified and one UAV was intercepted," IDF said.
Israel has been facing backlash after five UN peacekeepers were wounded in southern Lebanon over the last two days. UNIFIL spokesman Teneti also said that a lot of damage had been caused to its posts there.
Two UN peacekeepers were injured on Friday after IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon fired at an "immediate threat" against them, which they claimed was located approximately 50 meters from the UNIFIL post. This resulted in the injury of two UNIFIL personnel.
The Lebanese health ministry stated that nine people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two villages near Beirut. Israel had previously warned residents of south Lebanon to not return homes until further notice.