Media Wire

Israel targets UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, second raid in days

The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon confirms that its headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, was hit by explosions for the second time in 48 hours, a day after Israeli soldiers struck the same position.

Two peacekeepers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured after two blasts occurred close to an observation tower, the UN mission said in a statement on Friday.

“This is a serious development, and UNIFIL reiterates that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times,” it added.

“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law.”

One of the injured peacekeepers was taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Tyre, while the other was treated at the site.

The organisation also noted “several T-walls at our UN position 1-31, near the Blue Line in Labbouneh, fell when an [Israeli military] caterpillar hit the perimeter and [Israeli] tanks moved in the proximity of the UN position”, referring to the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon.

“Our peacekeepers remained at the location”, it said, adding that additional peacekeepers were sent to reinforce the position.

The Israeli military announced in a statement it is conducting a thorough review of the incident where two peacekeepers were “inadvertently” hurt in southern Lebanon. It later said two personnel with the UN peacekeeping mission were wounded when Israeli forces responded to a threat.

It added it had instructed UNIFIL personnel to go to protected areas and remain there hours before the incident.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier said the attacks were on watchtowers and the main UNIFIL base in Naqoura and on the Sri Lankan battalion’s base.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that artillery shelling from an Israeli Merkava tank wounded members of the Sri Lankan battalion, without specifying their exact location.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday said it was “very clear that this incident is intolerable and cannot be repeated”.

Human Rights Watch called for a UN inquiry into the attacks and said the deliberate targeting of UN missions is a “war crime”.

“UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon have long played a critical civilian protection and humanitarian role,” stated Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa director at the New York-based rights group.

“Any targeting of UN peacekeepers by Israeli forces violates the laws of war and dangerously interferes with UNIFIL’s civilian protection and aid work.”

Friday’s incident comes a day after UN peacekeepers said the Israeli military “repeatedly” fired at UNIFIL headquarters and positions in southern Lebanon.

Two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured on Thursday and remained in hospital, the mission said.

UNIFIL personnel wear blue helmets to be clearly identifiable and their position is known to the Israeli military.

Israel acknowledged its forces had opened fire in the area, saying the Hezbollah fighters on whom it is waging war operate near UN posts.

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told Al Jazeera the attack was a “very serious” development.

He explained that Israel had previously asked the peacekeepers to move from “certain positions” near the border, but “we decided to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to fly in [the] south of Lebanon.

“At the moment, we are staying, we are trying to do whatever we can to monitor [and] to provide assistance,” Tenenti added.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

Senior advisor to Iran FM: No immediate plans to adjust military advisors in Syria

Ali Asghar Khaji, a Senior Advisor to Iran’s Foreign Minister, stated in an interview with…

2 hours ago

Biden, Xi to discuss China’s support for Russia at APEC summit

US President Joe Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of…

4 hours ago

Rights group accuses Israel of crimes against humanity over forced displacement of Gazans

Israel is using evacuation orders to pursue the “deliberate and massive forced displacement” of Palestinian…

4 hours ago

Iran to give ‘immediate response’ to any anti-Tehran resolution by IAEA: Nuclear chief

Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), has warned of…

4 hours ago

Trump seeking to bring Ukraine, Russia to negotiating table: US National security advisor nominee

Donald Trump wants to bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table to end the…

5 hours ago

Army commander: Iran to deliver crushing response to Israel

The Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Army, Major General Seyyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, has vowed a decisive…

5 hours ago