3 more Lebanese soldiers killed in Israeli attack

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that 17 people were injured in the strike after reporting earlier that Israeli attacks across the country over the previous 24 hours had killed 28 people and wounded 107 – bringing the death toll in Lebanon since fighting erupted between Hezbollah and Israel in October 2023 to 3,544 dead and more than 15,000 injured.

The Lebanese army’s spokesperson, Fadi Eid, told The Associated Press (AP) news agency before the attack in Sarafand that 38 soldiers had been killed in Israeli strikes since October last year. The three latest casualties bring the overall death toll in the Lebanese army to 41, the AP reported.

Lebanon’s government said on Monday that it plans to file a formal complaint with the United Nations Security Council over “repeated attacks” by Israel on its army, and accused Israeli forces of repeated violations of international law.

Earlier on Tuesday, Italy’s Ministry of Defence reported that eight rockets hit the headquarters of the Italian contingent of the UN peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, in Chama, in southern Lebanon, and Ghanaian peacekeepers were injured in a rocket explosion in nearby Ramyah.

“Four Ghanaian peacekeepers on duty sustained injuries as a rocket – fired most likely by non-state actors within Lebanon – hit their base” in the village of Ramyah, UNIFIL said in a statement.

Though no injuries were reported, five Italian soldiers are being monitored in the Chama base’s medical facility after the rocket attack, Italy’s Defence Ministry announced in its statement. Investigations are also under way to determine where the rockets originated and to identify those responsible for the attack, which hit some outdoor areas and the base’s supply warehouse.

Also on Tuesday, Argentina informed UNIFIL that it would be pulling out of the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

“Argentina has asked its officers to go back [to Argentina],” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti stated in response to a question about a newspaper report. He declined to comment on the reason for the Argentinian departure, referring the question to Argentina’s government.

Argentina is one of 48 countries contributing peacekeepers to UNIFIL, with a total of three staff currently in Lebanon, according to a UN website.

UNIFIL has previously referred to “unacceptable pressures being exerted on the mission through various channels”, amid demands by the Israeli military for UN personnel to leave their bases and withdraw from southern Lebanon.

More than 20 peacekeepers have been injured in the past two months and several UNIFIL bases have been damaged by Israeli air attacks, which Israel has claimed were unintentional. Israel accuses UNIFIL peacekeeping bases of shielding Hezbollah fighters.

UNIFIL has rejected Israel’s demands to evacuate from southern Lebanon for its own safety.

Also on Tuesday, United States envoy Amos Hochstein declared that there is a “real opportunity” to bring the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel to an end as he visits Lebanon to discuss a ceasefire.

Hochstein made the remarks in Beirut on Tuesday after what he described as “very constructive talks” with Nabih Berri, the speaker of Lebanon’s parliament, who has been endorsed by Hezbollah to negotiate a deal.

“This is a moment of decision-making. I am here in Beirut to facilitate that decision, but it’s ultimately the decision of the parties to reach a conclusion to this conflict. It is now within our grasp,” he added.

The administration of US President Joe Biden is making a last-ditch attempt for a truce as fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli military has escalated.

“As the window is now, I hope the coming days yield a resolute decision,” Hochstein continued, but he would not take questions from journalists about the talks because he did not want “to be negotiating this in public”.

“I’m committed to doing everything I can to work with Lebanon’s and Israel’s government to bring everything to a close.”

Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday that the agreement was “good in principle” but that some details, including technical details, still needed to be ironed out.

He added Hochstein would settle those details before travelling on to Israel and that Lebanon saw the US as the guarantor of the Israeli stance.