BEIRUT - Israel began bombing Lebanese branches of an association accused of financing the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, Lebanese state media reported late Sunday, a further escalation of Israel's nearly month-long war against the militants.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon said the Israeli army had"deliberately" damaged one of their positions, the latest incident reported by the force. Four days earlier, European Union nations with troops in the thousands-strong mission had agreed to"exert maximum political and diplomatic pressure on Israel" to prevent further"incidents" against UNIFIL.Earlier Sunday the Israeli military said it hit the"command centre of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters" and underground weapons facility in south Beirut.
The NNA later reported 14 Israeli strikes in the space of 15 minutes on a single border village, Khiam. The Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation"condemned the strike in the strongest terms", describing Israel's actions in Gaza a"stain on the conscience of humanity". Israeli firefighters used aircraft to battle flames after a rocket strike near Rosh Pinna, in the Safed area.