Israel’s Foreign Minister has declared António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the UN, unwelcome in the country, arguing that he failed to clearly condemn the Iranian assault on Israel that took place on Tuesday night. Additionally, eight Israeli soldiers have lost their lives in clashes with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran has called an end to its offensive against Israel.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz has formally declared the UN Secretary-General a ‘persona non grata’ and barred him from entering Israel, as stated in an official release. «Anyone who cannot clearly denounce the horrific Iranian attack on Israel should not be allowed on Israeli soil. This Secretary-General has supported terrorists, rapists, and murderers, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran,» he declared.
Katz was referencing the missile strike carried out by Iran on Tuesday night against Israel, which, although it did not result in Israeli casualties, saw numerous projectiles land within the country after being intercepted or neutralized by Israeli defense systems.
Last night, Guterres condemned the Iranian assault and the «escalation of conflict in the Middle East, marked by a series of escalations,» and once again called for a ceasefire.
On the northern front, additional Israeli troops joined the units that commenced ground operations in southern Lebanon yesterday, facing resistance from Hezbollah’s Shiite fighters.
The Israeli military reported that «additional forces» had been deployed in what they described as «limited, localized, and precise» incursions targeting «terrorist» sites and Hezbollah infrastructure. However, this has not stopped the militia from launching numerous rockets from southern Lebanon into northern Israel, damaging several homes in the town of Metula, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Alongside the rocket attacks, Hezbollah claimed its fighters «confronted Israeli enemy infantry forces trying to infiltrate the village of Adaisseh, inflicting casualties and forcing them to withdraw.» Lebanese TV network LBC reported direct confrontations between Israeli troops and members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit, with the Israelis ultimately having to retreat.
Hours after the incident, the Israeli army reported the deaths of eight soldiers in southern Lebanon, with several others injured.
These fatalities mark the first significant losses for the IDF since the initiation of Israel’s ground operations in Lebanon earlier this week. The names of four commandos, two reconnaissance unit members, and one engineer corps member were released on Wednesday.
All commandos were killed during a firefight with Hezbollah operatives in a southern Lebanese village, as reported by The Times of Israel. Five other soldiers sustained serious injuries during the clash.
Hezbollah claimed on Wednesday that it had killed a «significant number» of Israeli soldiers during some of the first direct confrontations between both sides since the Israeli operation commenced on Monday night. A spokesperson for the group accused the IDF of conducting a «cover-up» to shield public opinion from turning against the war.
This ground operation in southern Lebanon represents Israel’s largest military action since its conflict with Hezbollah in 2006, which ended largely unfavorably for Israel due to rising casualties among its forces.
In this context, the Lebanese Armed Forces confirmed that Israeli troops had crossed about 400 meters into Lebanese territory. «An Israeli enemy force penetrated the Blue Line up to 400 meters into Lebanese territory in the areas of Harba Yaron and Bawaba al Eddessa and then withdrew after a short time,» the military stated in a brief message on X, as quoted by the EFE Agency.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes continued in southern and eastern Lebanon—regions heavily populated by Hezbollah—as well as in the capital, Beirut. The Lebanese National News Agency (ANN) reported that several southern areas faced «massive» Israeli attacks early Wednesday, particularly near the coastal city of Tyre, about 20 kilometers from the border with Israel. The Israeli army has ordered the evacuation of around twenty villages in the vicinity of Tyre and a little further north.
According to ANN, a Lebanese emergency services center was struck in the Dahie area of southern Beirut, but the building had been evacuated after Israel ordered residents to leave several buildings in southern suburbs of the capital, which have been heavily impacted during this offensive. Since the beginning of its bombing campaign against Lebanon last Monday, over a thousand fatalities have been reported in the Cedar country.
Israel has continued its bombardments of Gaza and escalated its attacks since yesterday. Gazan health ministry sources have informed EFE that at least 90 individuals have died in recent hours, a number exceeding the average daily death toll in recent weeks. Approximately 34 people died in northern Gaza following Israeli strikes on a school and an orphanage. In central Gaza, 18 individuals were killed, including three minors and four women, when a group attempted to cross the Netzarim corridor, an artificial route established by Israeli forces to divide Gaza, and came under artillery fire. Additionally, hospitals in Khan Younis and Rafah in the south received 37 corpses following a new Israeli incursion into southeastern territory.
October 7 marks the one-year anniversary of the start of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, during which nearly 42,000 individuals have lost their lives and almost 100,000 have been injured.