The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today accused the Israeli army of opening fire on its soldiers in the south of the country, without injuring anyone, and called on Israel to cease all such attacks, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
UNIFIL is working with the Lebanese army to implement the ceasefire agreement signed on November 27, 2024, after more than a year of conflict, including two months of open warfare between the pro-Iranian movement “Hezbollah“ and Israel.
“This morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired at UNIFIL personnel from a “Merkava“ tank positioned near an Israeli position on Lebanese territory,“ the mission said in a statement.“
They specified that heavy automatic weapons were fired at the soldiers, but UNIFIL personnel were able to safely leave the area immediately after the tank withdrew.
The shooting “represents a serious violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701“, the statement said in connection with the UN resolution that ended the war between Israel and “Hezbollah“ in 2006 and which served as the basis for the ceasefire agreement last November.
According to this resolution, only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers can be deployed in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border.
UNIFIL demanded that “the Israeli army cease all aggressive behavior and attacks against or near the peacekeepers, who are fighting to restore the stability that both Israel and Lebanon claim to want“.
The Israeli army, for its part, said in a statement that it had mistaken the UN soldiers for “suspicious persons“ due to “bad weather conditions“.
As a result, Israeli forces “fired warning shots“. After identifying them, “the suspects were determined to be UN soldiers patrolling the area.”
”The Israeli army stressed that it did not intentionally fire at UNIFIL soldiers”, the statement said, adding that the facts of the case “are being investigated”.”
In late October, the UN and France accused Israel of firing near UNIFIL soldiers in southern Lebanon, and in September, the UN force said Israeli drones had fired four grenades near their positions, although Israel claimed it “did not fire intentionally” against them.
Despite the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army still occupies five positions in southern Lebanon, on the border with northern Israel, and regularly carries out attacks on Lebanese territory, claiming that its target is “Hezbollah“.