Concerns are mounting for the safety of peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, a senior United Nations official warned on Thursday, after the UN accused Israeli troops of injuring two UNIFIL personnel.
Briefing the UN Security Council, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix described the situation in southern Lebanon as an “increasingly alarming” one which is putting UN “peacekeepers at serious risk.”
The IDF has said its troops were operating “in the area of Naqoura, next to a UNIFIL base” and that “the IDF instructed the UN forces in the area to remain in protected spaces, following which the forces opened fire in the area.”
The Israeli military has also accused Hezbollah of operating near UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said the two peacekeepers, both from Indonesia, remain hospitalized, but their injuries are not serious.
The incident drew condemnation from several countries including France and Ireland, both of whom have military contingents in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
France expressed its “deep concern” after the attack, saying it was “awaiting explanations from the Israeli authorities.”
Irish foreign minister, Micheál Martin described the IDF’s “targeting & firing on UNIFIL positions” as “reprehensible” and “unacceptable.”
What is UNIFIL? The UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon was established by the UN Security Council in 1978, following the Israeli invasion of the country’s south. The agency established the Blue Line – an area spanning 120 kilometers along southern Lebanon – in 2000, in order to ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
On Wednesday, a UNIFIL spokesperson told CNN that Israeli invasions were ongoing “a bit everywhere in the proximity” of the Blue Line, as the Israeli military expands operations across southern Lebanon.
This post has been updated with additional information.
