UN says Israeli forces fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon open fire on UNIFIL peacekeepers, wounding two

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said on Thursday that Israeli forces had opened fire on several facilities in the area amid rising tensions between the global organization and Israel. Israeli military operations intensify against Iranian-backed organization Hezbollah.

“UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions have been repeatedly attacked. This morning, an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Merkava tank opened fire on the observation tower of UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, injuring two peacekeepers. .This hit it directly and caused it to fall,” the UNIFIL mission said in a statement posted on social media. “Fortunately, his injuries were not serious, but he is still hospitalized.”

UNIFIL peacekeeping missions have been deployed in southern Lebanon for more than 45 years. CBS News has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on UN casualties.

“We remind the IDF and all parties of their obligation to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN facilities at all times,” UNIFIL said Thursday.

Hundreds of UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon are Irish, but the army said Thursday that no one was injured by IDF shelling and their positions were not targeted. Nevertheless, Irish leader Simon Harris issued a statement saying he was “deeply concerned by reports that the Israeli Defense Forces have opened fire on UNIFIL positions at UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura.”

“Fire on peacekeepers is never acceptable, it will not be tolerated,” Harris said. “The blue helmets worn by United Nations peacekeepers must be sacred. They operate on behalf of the international community in some of the most difficult places in the world. They are not combatants; must be respected at all times.”

Tensions between Israel and UNIFIL are rising as the IDF steps up attacks on Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Since 1978, U.N. forces have been on the Lebanese side of the so-called Blue Line, the de facto border established by U.N. resolutions to end the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, when the IDF withdrew from Lebanon. They are tasked with ensuring safety. Israeli officials have recently accused UNIFIL of failing in its mission and allowing Hezbollah to maintain a presence along the border for decades.

IDF operations – both devastating air strikes and ground operations, has increased dramatically Over the past two weeks, thousands of Israeli troops have been deployed to the northern border. At least 10 IDF soldiers were killed in the operation. Airstrikes also hit Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley to the east of the capital, long considered Hezbollah’s strongholds along with the south.

The standoff between UNIFIL and Israel has been going on for several weeks since the IDF sent ground troops. Despite warnings to withdraw, UNIFIL forces remained in positions across southern Lebanon as the operation escalated.

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon and UNIFIL chief called on Tuesday for an urgent negotiated solution to the crisis along the Israel-Lebanon border. The statement by Janine Hennis Plaschaert and UNIFIL commander Lieutenant General Arold Lazarus comes just one day after Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones into northern Israel in support of Hamas allies in the Gaza Strip. It was published a year later.

At the end of September, War with Hamas in Gaza Still enraged, Israel has dramatically stepped up its fight against Hezbollah, a powerful and well-armed Iranian proxy group deeply embedded in Lebanese politics, which last year backed Hamas and sent 10,000 Israelis to Israel. in response to firing more than one rocket.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the goal of the Crossing the Blue Line operation was to drive Hezbollah fighters and weapons far enough from Israel’s northern border to stop a hail of rockets and leave tens of thousands of Israelis in their devastated homelands. He said that the goal is to enable him to return to the country. houses in the area. The Israel Defense Forces said the cross-border ground operation, which began in southern Lebanon at the end of September, would be a “limited, localized and targeted ground raid based on accurate intelligence.”

Lebanese officials say Israeli forces have killed at least 2,141 people in the country since Oct. 8, 2024, about half of them in less than two weeks after the attacks escalated, and at least 22 on Wednesday alone. It is said that he was killed in an airstrike. More than 10,000 others were injured, according to the country’s health ministry.

Two U.N. officials said in a statement Tuesday that “too many lives have been lost, uprooted and destroyed, while civilians on both sides of the Blue Line have no desire for security and stability.” . “Today, one year later, near-daily firefights have escalated into a relentless military operation, and the humanitarian impact has been nothing short of devastating…A negotiated solution is what civilians on both sides are desperately defending. “This is the only way to restore the security and stability that we want and deserve.” ”

What is UNIFIL?

UNIFIL is the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. The peacekeeping mission was established in 1978 as part of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Its mission is to help the Lebanese government regain its authority in the region and restore international peace and security.

UNIFIL peacekeepers are also tasked with ensuring that their areas of operations are free of hostile activity of any kind and protecting humanitarian workers and civilians from imminent threats of physical violence.

On October 1, Israel notified UNIFIL of its intention to launch a limited ground invasion in southern Lebanon. The Irish Army previously said its troops deployed to UNIFIL “remain steadfast in their determination and tenacity to fulfill their mission.”

UNIFIL has approximately 10,500 peacekeepers from 50 countries. IDF ground forces have recently been operating near UN Post 6-52, where approximately 30 Irish UNIFIL peacekeepers are stationed. The Irish leader said on Thursday that all members of the Irish military in Lebanon “continue to carry out their duties admirably despite extremely difficult circumstances”.

Since Israel began its invasion of southern Lebanon, clashes have occurred between IDF forces and Hezbollah in the towns of Maroun el-Ras, Yaroun and Nakoura, a situation UNIFIL has described as dangerous and unacceptable. There is.

What is the blue line?

UNIFIL peacekeeping forces operate in southern Lebanon, within an area marked by the 125-mile Blue Line. Although it is not a formal border, it has been intended for almost 50 years to keep Lebanese and Israeli forces at a safe distance from each other.

It is a violation of UN resolution 1701 for either the Israeli or Hezbollah sides to cross or fire on the Blue Line without permission from the Lebanese government, but such crossfire has been almost impossible since October 8, 2023. It happens every day. Sometimes they cross borders. They were created by Lebanese farmers and villagers, as they are not always clearly marked.

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