UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring two
AFP | Beirut, Lebanon
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UN peacekeepers in Lebanon said Israeli fire on their headquarters in the south yesterday left two Blue Helmets injured, as they accused Israel of “repeatedly” hitting their positions. Italy and Ireland, which have troops in the mission, called the shooting unacceptable. It is the most serious incident reported by the mission since it said last week it had rejected Israeli demands to “relocate” from some of its positions.
UNIFIL, which has about 10,000 peacekeepers stationed in south Lebanon, has called for a ceasefire since an escalation between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on September 23, after a year of cross-border fire. “This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall,” the mission said, using an acronym for the Israeli military.
The two peacekeepers did not suffer serious injuries, “but they remain in hospital,” it said. A UNIFIL spokeswoman said they were Indonesian. The defence minister of Italy, which along with Indonesia is among UNIFIL’s largest troop contributors, described the “shooting” as “intolerable”. Guido Crosetto said he “protested to my Israeli counterpart and the Israeli ambassador to Italy”.
‘Reckless’
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, whose country has about 370 troops in the mission, said “any firing in the vicinity of UNIFIL troops or facilities is reckless and must stop”. According to UNIFIL, the Israeli military also hit another position in Ras Naqura, further to the south, on Thursday. UNIFIL said it hit “the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, and damaging vehicles and a communications system”.
The mission added that an Israeli military drone “was observed flying inside the UN position up to the bunker entrance.” UNIFIL headquarters and nearby positions “have been repeatedly hit,” the mission said. On Wednesday, “IDF soldiers deliberately fired at and disabled” perimeter-monitoring cameras around a position, UNIFIL added. “They also deliberately fired on (a site) where regular tripartite meetings were held before the conflict began, damaging lighting and a relay station.”
UNIFIL last week said the Israeli military, before it began ground operations inside Lebanon, had asked the peacekeepers to “relocate” from some positions. The peacekeeping mission rejected the demand, which Ireland’s President Michael Higgins, called “an insult to the most important global institution”.
‘Extremely dangerous’
On Sunday UNIFIL warned that Israeli operations near one of its positions southeast of Maroun al-Ras were “extremely dangerous” and compromising the Blue Helmets’ safety. Maroun al-Ras is about 27 kilometres (17 miles) east of Naqura. Israel has pounded what it says are Hezbollah positions in Lebanon in the past two weeks, killing more than 1,200 people and displacing more than a million people from their homes, according to official figures.
It has said it is carrying out “limited” incursions across its northern border, while Hezbollah has repeatedly said it was firing on Israeli soldiers trying to advance in the area. Earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah said that it has destroyed an Israeli tank advancing towards Ras al-Naqura, and that it had fired rockets at Israeli troops who then tried to retrieve their wounded. The Iran-backed group also said it fired rockets at Israel troops in another Lebanese area along the frontier, Mais al-Jabal.
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