Israeli forces open fire on UN peacekeepers

UN peacekeepers and military equipment.

A patrol of the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL in the Sardah area of ​​southern Lebanon has come under fire from Israeli troops. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement on Wednesday (December 10) that the incident was a serious violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

UNIFIL said that on Tuesday, an Israeli Merkava tank opened fire on a convoy of peacekeepers patrolling the Blue Line in the Sardah area along the Lebanon-Israel border. First, 10 rounds were fired over the heads of the peacekeepers and then four more rounds of 10 rounds were fired.

When the shooting began, UNIFIL immediately called on Israeli forces to cease fire through its coordination channel. The statement said that both the peacekeeping force and the Israeli tanks were inside Lebanon at the time.

The statement added, “Attacks on or near peacekeepers are a serious violation of Security Council Resolution 1701. We call on the Israeli military to cease these aggressive actions and attacks.” The Israeli military has not commented officially on the matter. There were no reports of casualties in the shooting.

UN peacekeepers have previously been subjected to Israeli attacks, laser targeting and warning shots while on duty in southern Lebanon. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, described these as “extremely dangerous incidents.”

A ceasefire in Lebanon came into effect in November 2024, ending more than a year of violence in the context of the ongoing Israeli operation in Gaza. By that time, Israeli attacks in Lebanon had killed more than 4,000 people and wounded 17,000.

Even after the ceasefire was declared, Israeli forces had carried out 1,038 attacks in the country, killing at least 335 people and wounding 973, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Under the agreement, Israel was supposed to completely withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon by January 2025. But it has only partially withdrawn and the occupying forces still maintain a military presence at five border posts.

Source: Anadolu