UN peacekeepers on Israel-Lebanon border 'fundamental', says chief

Since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, sparking a war in the Gaza Strip, Israel and Lebanese movement Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, have traded near-daily cross-border fire. But worry has grown of a wider regional conflict, especially after the killing, blamed on Israel, of a top Hamas leader in Iran and an Israeli air strike that killed a Hezbollah commander in the Beirut southern suburbs last week. The role of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, was today "more important than ever"...