Israel kills at least 18 in strike on Christian town in north Lebanon

By Artorn Pookasook and Maya Gebeily

JERUSALEM/DUBAI (Reuters) -Israel expanded its targets in its war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 18 people in an airstrike on the Christian-majority town of Aitou in the north, the Lebanese Red Cross said.

So far the main focus of Israel's military operations in Lebanon has been in the south, the Bekaa Valley in the east and the suburbs of Beirut.

The strike in Aitou hit a house that had been rented to displaced families, Aitou mayor Joseph Trad told Reuters. In addition to the deaths, four people were injured, the Red Cross said.

In the south, Israel ordered residents of 25 villages to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows east to west some 60 km (35 miles) north of the Israeli frontier.

The Israeli military said it had killed Muhammad Kamel Naim, commander of the anti-tank missile unit of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, in a strike in the Nabatieh area of south Lebanon.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment.

The operations come amid tensions between Israel and the U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL in south Lebanon, with Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen on Monday repeating a call by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the U.N. troops to leave.

ISRAEL AT ODDS WITH UN PEACEKEEPERS

Israel and the United Nations have been trading accusations over the peacekeepers, as Israel keeps pushing forces through the area in an attempt to wipe out Iran-backed Hezbollah and its military infrastructure while it also battles Hamas in Gaza.

The U.N. said Israeli tanks had burst into its base on Sunday, the latest allegations of Israeli violations against peacekeeping forces.

Israel disputed the U.N. account and Netanyahu said UNIFIL was providing "human shields" for Hezbollah, an allegation Hezbollah denies.

Meanwhile, the entire Middle East remains on high alert for Israel to retaliate against Iran for an Oct. 1 barrage of long-range missiles launched in response to Israel's assaults on Lebanon.

The Pentagon said on Sunday it would send U.S. troops to Israel along with an advanced U.S. anti-missile system.

On Monday, the U.S. embassy in Lebanon strongly encouraged its citizens to leave "now", warning that additional flights laid on by the government to help U.S. citizens leave since Sept. 27 would not continue indefinitely.

The Israeli military took foreign journalists into southern Lebanon on Sunday and showed them a Hezbollah tunnel shaft that was less than 200 metres away (650 feet) from a UNIFIL position, as well as weapon stashes that the troops found.

Brigadier General Yiftach Norkin said the tunnels had been built a few years ago.

"We are actually standing in a military base of Hezbollah very close to the to the U.N.," Norkin said, pointing to the shaft's trapdoor in an area covered by undergrowth and overlooked by a U.N. observation post.

Since announcing its ground operation near the border, the Israeli military says that it has destroyed dozens of Hezbollah tunnel shafts, rocket launchers and command posts.

HEZBOLLAH TUNNEL NETWORK

Hezbollah possesses an extensive tunnel network in southern Lebanon, which Israel estimates extend for hundreds of kilometres. A Hezbollah field commander told Reuters last week that the tunnels "are the foundation of the battle".

UNIFIL has said previous Israeli attacks limited its monitoring abilities and U.N. sources say they fear any violations of international law in the conflict will be impossible to monitor.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that EU member states had taken too long to condemn Israel's attacks on UNIFIL soldiers, describing them as "completely unacceptable".

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged EU members to respond to a request by Madrid and Ireland to suspend the bloc's free trade agreement with Israel over its attacks in Lebanon and Gaza.

EU countries, led by Italy, France and Spain, have thousands of troops in the 10,000-strong peacekeeping mission.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah resumed a year ago when the militant group began firing rockets at Israeli positions in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war, and has escalated sharply in recent weeks.

Israel says its operations in Lebanon are aimed at securing the return of tens of thousands of people displaced from their homes in northern Israel.

(Additional reporting byy Maya Gebeily; Writing by Michael Georgy and Sharon Singleton; Editing by Stephen Coates, Toby Chopra and Kevin Liffey)