Israeli forces fire on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon early Thursday morning, according to UNIFIL, the mission operating along the Security Council-mandated “Blue Line” of separation between the two countries which they patrol.

“UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions have been repeatedly hit,” the UN mission said in a statement. “This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall.

“The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital.”

UN peacekeepers are present in south Lebanon to support a return to stability under a 2006 Security Council mandate. Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and of Security Council resolution 1701, according to UNIFIL, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1155551