UNIFIL says Israeli military forced entry at base in southern Lebanon

The United Nations peacekeeping ngo successful confederate Lebanon says Israeli tanks person forced introduction astatine 1 of its positions, arsenic Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN to evacuate its troops from the area.

The incidental is the latest successful a bid of violations and attacks by Israeli forces connected the United Nations Interim Force successful Lebanon (UNIFIL) successful caller days and comes arsenic Israel expands its bombardment and crushed attacks connected Lebanon.

UNIFIL said successful a connection connected Sunday that 2 Israeli tanks “destroyed the position’s main gross and forcibly entered the position”.

Soon aft the tanks left, shells exploded 100 metres (328 feet) away, releasing fume that blew crossed the basal and sickened UN personnel, causing 15 to necessitate attraction contempt wearing state masks, UNIFIL said. It did not accidental who fired the shells oregon what benignant of toxic substance it suspected.

It besides accused Israel’s subject of halting a logistics convoy. The Israeli subject did not instantly respond to the statement.

“Any deliberate onslaught connected peacekeepers is simply a sedate usurpation of planetary humanitarian instrumentality and Resolution 1701,” the United Nations unit said. “UNIFIL’s mandate provides for its state of question successful its country of operations, and immoderate regularisation connected this is simply a usurpation of Resolution 1701. We person requested an mentation from the [Israeli army] for these shocking violations.”

The incidental occurred hours earlier Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called connected the UN to evacuate the peacekeeping unit from combat areas successful Lebanon.

“The clip has travel for you to retreat UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones,” Netanyahu said successful a connection addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The Israeli service “has requested this repeatedly and has met with repeated refusal, which has the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with quality shields”, Netanyahu added.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati slammed Netanyahu’s demand.

“The informing that Netanyahu addressed to … Guterres demanding the removal of the UNIFIL represents a caller section successful the enemy’s attack of not complying with planetary [norms],” helium said.

The Lebanese equipped radical Hezbollah denied Israel’s accusation that it uses the proximity of peacekeepers to support its fighters.

Ray Murphy, a erstwhile UNIFIL peacekeeper, told Al Jazeera that “the usage of the tanks, firing astatine and astir UN posts, and recklessly endangering UN unit is simply a deliberate, convulsive enactment by Israeli forces”.

“In nary mode tin this beryllium attributed to Hezbollah. It is simply a determination by Israeli forces to people UN forces, UN posts,” helium said.

UN peacekeepers are protected nether planetary humanitarian law, Murphy noted.

“They are not playing a subject role. They are playing a bid role. They are observing, they are reporting, they are trying to present humanitarian assistance. There is nary justification for this onslaught connected UN forces,” Murphy said.

Israel’s envoy to the UN, Danny Danon, said that the “UN’s insistence connected keeping UNIFIL soldiers successful enactment of occurrence is incomprehensible.”

UNIFIL was acceptable up successful 1978 to show confederate Lebanon. Since then, the country has seen persistent conflict, with Israel invading successful 1982, occupying confederate Lebanon until 2000 and warring a five-week warfare against Hezbollah successful 2006.

Israel and Hezbollah began trading near-daily occurrence successful October 2023 aft Israel launched its continuing battle connected Gaza. More than 2,100 radical person been killed successful the warring betwixt Israel and Hezbollah, according to Lebanese authorities, mostly implicit the past fewer weeks since Israel escalated its attacks, and much than 1.2 cardinal radical person been displaced.

Attacks connected UN peacekeepers

Five peacekeepers person truthful acold been wounded successful a bid of attacks that person deed peacekeeping positions and unit successful caller days, with astir of the attacks blamed by UNIFIL connected Israeli forces.

On Thursday, UN peacekeeping main Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the UN Security Council that “the information and information of peacekeepers is present progressively successful jeopardy”. He said they remained successful presumption but operational activities had virtually travel to a halt since September 23 and peacekeepers were confined to base. Three 100 had besides been temporarily relocated to bigger bases.

The United States and European countries person demanded that Israeli forces halt firing astatine the peacekeepers. On Friday, US President Joe Biden said helium was “absolutely, positively” telling Israel to stop.

On Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, typically 1 of Israel’s astir vocal supporters among Western European leaders, besides reiterated to Netanyahu the “unacceptability of UNIFIL being attacked by Israeli equipped forces”, according to an Italian authorities statement.

Netanyahu said connected Sunday connected X that helium told Meloni helium regrets “any harm done to UNIFIL personnel” successful Lebanon.

“Israel volition marque each effort to forestall UNIFIL casualties and volition bash what it takes to triumph the war,” Netanyahu said.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies