The UN Interim Force in Lebanon said the attack on its peacekeepers was a ‘deliberate’ act by Israeli forces.
Israeli forces fired at UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon, injuring two Indonesian peacekeepers.
UNIFIL – the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon – said Thursday that two peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the force’s headquarters in the border area town of Naqoura, causing them to fall.
Any attack on peacekeepers is a “grave violation of international humanitarian law,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
The peacekeeping organization, with about 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries and started in 1978, said Israeli forces had “intentionally” fired at its positions along the border.
The UN undersecretary-general for peace operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, told the UN Security Council that the “safety and security” of the UN peacekeepers in Lebanon are “increasingly at risk.”
Operational activities had virtually come to a standstill since 23 September when Israel launched a wave of strikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, he said, adding that UNIFIL was ready to support all efforts toward a diplomatic solution.
” Peacekeepers have been confined to their bases and spent significant periods of time in shelter,” he said, adding that UNIFIL was ready to support all efforts toward a diplomatic solution.
In an emergency meeting of the 15-member council, he said the UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL, is mandated to support the implementation of resolution 1701. Still, it should be up to the parties themselves to implement its provisions.
UN Security Council resolution 1701 provides UNIFIL with a mandate to assist the Lebanese Army in keeping its southern area bordering Israel free of weapons or armed personnel other than those of the state of Lebanon.
