Middle East Disaster Live: EU Chief Says Israel Shooting at Peacekeepers 'Not Acceptable'; UN says staff in Lebanon 'increasingly in danger'

U.N. peacekeepers chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the security council that the safety of more than 10,400 U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon was “increasingly endangered” and that operations were virtually halted. They had been detained since the end of September, coinciding with Israel's escalation against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Peacekeepers have been confined to their bases with significant periods of time in shelters,” he said, adding that the mission – known as Unifil – was ready to support all efforts towards a diplomatic solution.

His comments came after the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said Israeli forces had deliberately fired on its positions, wounding two Indonesian peacekeepers. Unifil described the attacks against peacekeepers as “a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”

The White House said the United States was deeply concerned by those reports and was pressing Israel for more details. The Israeli military said its troops were operating in the Naqoura area, “next to a Unifil base.” “Consequently, the IDF ordered UN forces in the area to remain in protected spaces, after which the forces opened fire in the area,” Israel's statement said, adding that it maintains routine communication with Unifil.

The peacekeepers were determined to remain at their posts despite Israeli attacks and orders from the Israeli army to withdraw, said UN force spokesman Andrea Tenenti. Its 50 contributing countries agreed Thursday to continue deploying more than 10,000 peacekeepers between the Litani River in the north and the UN-recognized border between Lebanon and Israel known as the Blue Line in the south.

“We are there because [UN] The security council has asked us to be there. So we will stay until the situation becomes impossible for us to operate,” Tenenti said.

In New York, Israel's U.N. ambassador Danny Danon said Israel recommended Unifil relocate 5 kilometers north “to avoid danger as fighting intensifies.”

Hello and welcome to The Guardian's continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.

The security of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon is “increasingly endangered” and operational activities have virtually stopped since September 23, UN peacekeeper chief Jean-Pierre said. Lacroix, to the security council on Thursday night.

“Peacekeepers have been confined to their bases with significant periods of time in shelters,” he said, adding that the mission – known as Unifil – was ready to support all efforts towards a diplomatic solution.

It comes after the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said on Thursday that Israeli forces had deliberately fired on its positions, wounding two peacekeepers.

European Council President Charles Michel said the dismissal was “not responsible” and “unacceptable”.

More on that in a moment.

• At least 22 people were killed and more than 100 injured after Israeli airstrikes hit residential areas of central Beirut on Thursday night. The attacks hit the working-class district of Basta and the neighborhood of Nweiri, the deadliest attacks targeting central Beirut since Israel intensified its bombing campaign in the country two weeks ago. Hezbollah's Al Manar TV reported that the attacks were an attempt to assassinate Wafiq Safa, a senior security official with the group, which it said had failed.

• At least 28 people, including women and children, were killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a school housing displaced people in central Gaza on Thursday morning. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it had responded to 27 dead and 54 wounded after the attack on the school-turned-shelter in Deir al-Balah. The Israeli military said it had attacked militants operating in the compound.

• The Israeli army continued to advance with an offensive that began six days ago, when it sent troops into Jabaliya, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, and the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya. Palestinian health officials say at least 130 people have been killed so far in the operation, which Israel says is aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping. The military has told residents to evacuate an area where the UN estimates more than 400,000 people are trapped.

• Israeli forces have ordered the evacuation of three hospitals in northern Gaza (Indonesian, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals), putting patients' lives at risk, doctors say. The director of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza said eight patients, mostly children, were at risk inside intensive care units in case the Israeli army forced them to evacuate. Israeli shelling near the Kamal Adwan hospital has already caused some damage to the facility, doctors said. Authorities said they know of many fatalities on the roads outside the hospital due to Israeli fire.

• Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, said some Unrwa shelters and services were being forced to close for the first time since the war began. and that with almost no basic supplies available, hunger was spreading again in northern Gaza, amid witness accounts of corpses lying in the streets unpicked due to renewed fighting.