Israeli tank fire injures UN peacekeepers

Two peacekeepers were wounded when an Israeli tank fired at their headquarters on the Israeli-Lebanese border, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said.

The Naqoura HQ and other peacekeeper positions on the ‘Blue Line’ of separation between the two countries have been “repeatedly hit” by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), UNIFIL said in a statement on Thursday.

“This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura,” the statement read.

The tower was hit directly, resulting in UN personnel falling to the ground, UNIFIL said. “The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital,” it added.

The UN force in Lebanon stressed that “any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law” and the relevant UN Security Council Resolution.

Israeli soldiers “deliberately fired” at and disabled Naqoura’s perimeter-monitoring cameras on Wednesday, UNIFIL said.

Lighting and a relay station were also damaged when the IDF targeted a facility where meetings between UN, Israeli, and Lebanese military representatives were regularly held before the beginning of the latest escalation between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, it added.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Thursday that the wounded UN peacekeepers were part of the contingent from his country, but added that they had avoided serious injury.

The IDF confirmed in a statement that its troops were operating in the Naqoura area “next to a UNIFIL base.” 

“Accordingly, the IDF instructed the UN forces in the area to remain in protected spaces, following which the forces opened fire in the area,” the Israeli military said.

After the incident, Israel’s envoy to the UN, Danny Danon, recommended that UN peacekeepers “relocate 5km north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies” between the IDF and Hezbollah.

A US National Security Council spokesperson told Turkish news agency Anadolu that the White House is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s repeated attacks on UN peacekeepers. It is “critical” that the IDF’s operations on the Blue Line “not threaten UN peacekeepers’ safety and security,” the spokesperson stressed.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto suggested Israeli actions “could constitute war crimes.” According to Crosetto, Rome has asked the Jewish state for an official explanation of the attacks on UN peacekeepers on the Israeli-Lebanese border, “because it was not a mistake.”