Transcript of Israeli prime minister warns U.N. peacekeepers to evacuate southern Lebanon

Tonight, Israel continues to pound Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as the IDF orders residents of 21 more Lebanese villages to evacuate. And a Hezbollah drone strike on central Israel killed four Israeli soldiers and injured at least 50 people. Overnight, the US approved the deployment of a THAAD anti-missile battery to help Israel defend itself against Iranian ballistic missiles. But Israeli forces have also turned their guns on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. This morning, two Israeli tanks destroyed the gates of a UN position and forcibly entered. The latest in a string of Israeli attacks had injured more than a dozen UN troops in the past week. Israel's military has repeatedly asked the peacekeepers to move, but denies targeting them. It's time for you to remove UN peacekeepers from Hezbollah's strongholds and from the fighting areas, Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN today. Do you feel as though some of these incidents might be retaliation for UNIFIL's decision to hold their ground?

We can just look at the situation on the ground and what happened at at the events. We were asked to leave from all these positions close to the Blue Line. Immediately after, a few days later, our peacekeepers and our positions were targeted. And targeted not because there was ongoing exchanges of fire.

The Israelis, he said, offered no specific warnings to UN troops before they opened fire, turning peacekeepers into casualties of war. Matt Bradley, BBC News, Beirut, Lebanon. Thanks for watching. Stay. Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the BBC News app or follow us on social media.