Spain and Ireland urge EU countries to suspend free trade with Israel - after deadly night across conflict

At least 18 killed in Israeli strike on north Lebanon - Lebanese Red Cross

At least 18 people have been killed in an Israeli strike on the Christian-majority region of Aitou in north Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross has said.

The Lebanese health ministry said nine people had been killed in its initial report.

Earlier we cited local media reports saying Israel had hit the region for the first time in a year of hostilities (see 12.50pm post).

Israel's demand UNIFIL withdraw 'is political and military strategy to get UN out'

Israel's demand that United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers withdraw from the Lebanese-Israel border "is a political and military strategy to get the United Nations out," former Irish Army captain Dr Tom Clonan tells Sky News.

The Irish senator, who previously served with UNIFIL in Lebanon, says peacekeepers are "the eyes and ears of the international community on the ground".

"So unlike was the case in Gaza, we're witnessing, observing, recording and reporting everything that Hezbollah are doing and also, what the Israeli operations are doing specifically with regard to the laws of international conflict," he says.

Dr Clonan says "every time Israel has intervened in south Lebanon, they have targeted United Nations positions with direct and indirect fire".

He said when he was serving with UNIFIL in 1996 their positions came under attack by Israel, adding: "It's a matter of public record that Israel has targeted our peacekeeping troops in the past.

"But to balance that I would say we have also been targeted by Hezbollah and other Islamic resistance groups.

"So this is a long-established pattern of the cycle of violence in the region."

Israel adopting similar tactics from Gaza to Lebanon

Dr Clonan says Israel's military is adopting similar tactics to in Lebanon those they have used in Gaza.

"When they're going in with their armour they're firing at everything in front of them," he says.

"They're not distinguishing between innocent Lebanese objects, for example homes and schools and mosques, and Hezbollah targets. It's exactly what they were doing on the ground in Gaza."

He added: "For the United Nations, we can still observe, record, and - while we can't stop the conflict - there is still the potential to help to de-escalate."

Israel hits north Lebanon region for first time, local media reports

An Israeli strike has hit the north Lebanese majority-Christian region of Aitou for the first time in a year of hostilities, according to local media reports.

Lebanese media also said Israeli jets had struck several villages in the Baalbek district in the Bekaa Valley.

Israel has said it is targeting Hezbollah strongholds in the south of Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley in the east and the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.

Medical charity member killed in Gaza

A member of Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) has been killed in northern Gaza, the medical charity has said.

Nasser Hamdi Abdelatif Al Shalfouh, 31, died after sustaining shrapnel injuries in Jabalia on 8 October.

He was injured in the chest and legs and died in hospital two days later.

Israel's military has been pushing into Jabalia over the last 10 days.

Mr Shalfouh, who is survived by his wife and two children, joined MSF as a driver in March 2023 but had not been working since the war started as MSF activities in northern Gaza were severely affected.

"We are horrified by the killing of our colleague which we strongly condemn, and call yet again for the respect and protection of civilians," MSF said in a statement.

"For over a year, Israeli forces have systematically dismantled the health system in Gaza, impeding access to life-saving care for people.

"At the same time, medical evacuations have become extremely challenging, particularly in the north which has been largely cut off from the rest of Gaza, further making it difficult for people to access care."

The charity said he is the seventh colleague to have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war. 

Israeli minister accuses UNIFIL of being 'useless'

An Israeli minister has accused has called United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers in southern Lebanon a "useless" force that failed to protect Israelis from Hezbollah attacks.

"The State of Israel will do everything to ensure the safety of its citizens, and if the UN cannot help, at least it should not interfere, and move its personnel from the combat zones," Energy Minister Eli Cohen posted on X.

UNIFIL forces say they have repeatedly come under attack from Israel over the last week as Israel pushes into south Lebanon in an attempt to hit Hezbollah forces and their military infrastructure.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the peacekeepers to withdraw from the area and said they were providing "human shields" for Hezbollah.

Since 1978 the 10,000-strong UN force has been tasked with maintaining calm and reducing tensions along the "blue line" dividing Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

It comes after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said EU states had taken too long to condemn Israel's "completely unacceptable" attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers (see 8.28am post).

Spain urges EU countries to suspend free trade agreement with Israel

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has urged members of the European Union to suspend the bloc's free trade agreement with Israel over its actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

Both Spain and Ireland have been in talks with other EU nations for months over reviewing the EU-Israel Association Agreement on the basis Israel may be breaching the agreement's human rights clause.

Ireland accuses Israel of trying to stop world from seeing what its troops are doing

It comes as Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin accused Israel of trying to prevent the world from seeing what its troops are doing in Lebanon and Gaza.

Asked what Israel intends in demanding United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers leave their bases on the border between Israel and Lebanon, Mr Martin said: "Essentially to drive the eyes and ears out of south Lebanon and to give itself free rein."

UNIFIL forces have repeatedly come under attack from Israel over the last week, it has said.

Mr Martin said: "We cannot have an undermining and a chipping away of the status or the credibility or structures of the United Nations and particularly its peacekeeping forces.

"We see what’s happening in northern Gaza, for example, in terms of the necessity of eyes and ears on the ground. The world has really no full picture of what’s happening in Gaza."

He added: "Israel is essentially now undermining [not only] the United Nations and the United Nations peacekeeping force, but the very rules based international order, and it needs to step back."

-SKY NEWS