DIRECT. Middle East: UN peacekeepers to maintain their positions along the border between Israel and Lebanon

The United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) deployed along the border between Israel and Lebanon announced that it would “maintain its positions”, despite a request from the Israeli army to “move some” of them.

In a statement, UNIFIL indicates that the Israeli army requested on September 30 “the withdrawal of the Blue Helmets from some of their positions”, informing it “of its intention to carry out limited ground incursions into Lebanon”. “Peacekeepers, however, maintain their presence on all sites,” she added.

Unlike Joe Biden, Donald Trump said on Friday that Israel should “strike” Iranian nuclear facilities.

Speaking in North Carolina, the Republican White House nominee addressed a question posed to President Joe Biden midweek about the possibility of Israel targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.

“They asked him that question, the answer should have been ‘strike nuclear first and worry about the rest later,’” Donald Trump said.

On Wednesday, Joe Biden declared himself opposed to Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The FBI warned that as the anniversary of the October 7 attacks approaches, it “could be a motivating factor for violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators to engage in violence or threaten public safety.” “.

The FBI says foreign terrorist organizations and other extremists may seek to motivate their supporters to commit acts of violence.

The al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, confirmed the death of one of their commanders, Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, in an Israeli strike along with seven other members of the group.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States would provide some $157 million in “new U.S. humanitarian assistance to support conflict-affected populations in Lebanon and the region.”

This emergency food aid includes shelter, blankets, hygiene kits… He said the United States “provided nearly $386 million over the last year to support vulnerable populations in Lebanon and Syria affected by the intensification of the conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Damascus to discuss regional developments and bilateral relations with Syrian officials, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

The meeting comes after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a speech on Friday saying Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza would re-emerge with force under new leadership. He also defended the missile attack on Israel which he deemed “legal and legitimate”.

“We are afraid of a new Gaza in Lebanon,” said Lebanese Minister of Information Ziad Makary at the 19th Francophonie summit, who described the constant bombing of Lebanon by Israel as “sickening.”

The Minister of Higher Education justified this warning by a series of pro-Palestinian demonstrations this week in Paris in front of Sciences Po and the Institute of Oriental Languages, actions which according to him go “against the principles of neutrality and secularism”. For Melenchon, “It’s an abuse of power.” “The minister says that as the university is secular, we should not talk about Gaza”, but “talking about geopolitics does not undermine secularism”, he explained.

The leader of France Insoumise also suggested that “a flag that we could put with that of the Palestinians is that of Lebanon”.

American forces “carried out strikes today (Friday) on 15 Houthi targets in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis”, an Iranian-backed rebel movement, the US Middle East Military Command said on Wednesday. x.

US President Joe Biden said Friday evening that he was trying to “mobilize the rest of the world” to achieve peace in the Middle East.

“We do a lot of things. The most important thing we can do is try to mobilize the rest of the world and our allies to help ease tensions between Israel and Iran and its regional partners, he said. in front of the press at the White House.

Hezbollah claimed early that it was engaged in clashes with Israeli troops in the Yarun region of southern Lebanon, with a “salvo of rockets”, as well as soldiers in two locations on the Israeli side.

At the same time, a series of explosions was heard in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, according to AFP correspondents. The Israeli army had previously issued evacuation orders for certain areas.

AFP images show smoke rising from the area near the airport.

Hello everyone and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to ongoing tensions in the Middle East.