Israeli army fired on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

(Patria) - The Israeli army fired on two positions used by UN peacekeepers in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today and on a third position yesterday.

UNIFIL announced that two of their members were injured in one of the incidents, when an Israeli tank fired on a guard post at the forces' headquarters in Naqoura, hitting the tower and causing them to fall.

There were no casualties in the other two incidents, a UN source said.

"Any deliberate attack against peacekeepers is a serious violation of international humanitarian law," UNIFIL stated, adding that they are discussing the matter with the Israeli army.

This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall. The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital.

— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 10, 2024

The Israeli army, which is conducting an escalating offensive in Lebanon against the heavily armed Hezbollah, has not yet commented on this incident.

The UNIFIL peacekeeping force was established in 1978 and expanded after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Its largest contributors include France, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Ghana.

Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto stated that firing on peacekeepers is "completely unacceptable" and constitutes a clear violation of international law.