UN chief against any ground invasion of Lebanon: Spokesman says

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is opposed to any ground invasion of Lebanon by Israel, which continued its deadly aerial strikes on the country, his spokesman said Monday.

"We do not want to see any sort of ground invasion," Stephane Dujarric told a media briefing.

United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon have been unable to conduct patrols because of the intensity of Israeli strikes and Hezbollah's rockets targeting Israel, the UN spokesman said Monday.

"Our UNIFIL Blue Helmets remain in position in the mission's area of responsibility, while the intensity of fighting is preventing their movements and ability to undertake their mandated tasks," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told the briefing.

"Given the intensity of the rockets going back and forth, they are not able to do patrolling," he added.

AFP