The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon condemns the attack as “deeply disturbing”, no soldiers were injured.
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Israeli fire hit one of its patrols in the south of the country, despite a truce between Israel and Hamas that has largely calmed the Lebanese-Israeli border.
“Around 12 p.m., a UNIFIL patrol was hit by fire (from the Israeli army)” near Aitarun, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said in a statement on Saturday.
“No peacekeepers were injured, but the vehicle was damaged,” the statement said, adding that “this incident occurred during a period of relative calm” along the Israel-Lebanon border. .
Since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7, the border between Lebanon and Israel has seen an intensification of exchanges of fire, mainly between Israel and the Shiite movement Hezbollah, but also Palestinian groups, raising fears of a wider conflagration.
The scale of border fighting has gradually increased over the weeks, but it has not yet turned into an all-out war. At first, both sides began hitting each other with artillery attacks, and Israel also brought in its drones.
A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas began on Friday, and a source close to Hezbollah told the AFP news agency that the Iran-backed group would also respect the truce if Israel did so.
UNIFIL said “this attack on peacekeepers, intended to reduce tensions and restore stability in southern Lebanon, is deeply disturbing,” adding: “we condemn this act.”
Today around noon, a UNIFIL patrol was hit by IDF fire near Aytaroun, southern Lebanon.
No peacekeepers were injured, but the vehicle was damaged. This incident occurred during a period of relative calm along the Blue Line.
– UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) November 25, 2023
Last month, a shelling lightly injured a UN peacekeeper near the border village of Hula, just hours after UNIFIL said a shell had hit its headquarters in Naqura, near the Israeli-Israeli border. Lebanese.
The force said it was investigating the incidents.
“We strongly remind the parties of their obligations to protect peacekeepers and avoid endangering the men and women working to restore stability,” said the UNIFIL statement issued on Saturday.
Cross-border shooting killed 109 people in Lebanon, including 77 Hezbollah fighters and 14 civilians, including three journalists, according to an AFP tally.
Six Israeli soldiers and three civilians were killed on the Israeli side, according to authorities.
Although many Lebanese resent the plight of the Palestinians, they also fear becoming embroiled in a new conflict, many having already lived through the 2006 war in which more than 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon, many of them civilians. . At least 165 Israelis were also killed.
Since the pause came into effect on Friday, calm has largely returned to Lebanon’s southern border.
UNIFIL was established in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after their invasion of Lebanon in retaliation for a Palestinian attack.
It was strengthened after the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, and its approximately 10,000 peacekeeping troops are responsible for monitoring the ceasefire between the two sides.