UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to struggle with active Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon, issuing a statement today expressing concern about Israel’s increasingly aggressive military posture. One of the peacekeepers’ outposts near Kfar Chouba came under direct fire from Israeli troops across the border.
The fire was the first direct fire by Israeli troops against an UNIFIL post since the ceasefire went into effect in November. The post was hit, but officials said the peacekeepers are all safe after the incident.
Israel repeatedly targeted UNIFIL sites during the war in 2024, often damaging or destroying property. Shortly before the ceasefire went into effect in late November, an Israeli drone attacked a bus carrying UNIFIL peacekeepers, injuring six of them.
There have been incidents of UNIFIL patrols being targeted by Israeli forces since the ceasefire went into effect. French UNIFIL personnel found Israeli spy devices near the border village of Rmieh, and Israeli troops shot at them to drive them away, though no peacekeepers were actually hit and injured in that incident.
Yesterday, an Irish UNIFIL patrol operating near Maroun al-Ras reported being targeted by laser sights by nearby Israeli troops. No shots were fired, but the UNIFIL said such targeting was “unwelcome.”
Most of the incidents involve Israeli troops inside Israel firing across the border at UNIFIL personnel inside Lebanon, though that may not be the only concern. The UNIFIL reported that Israeli troops continue to cross the border into Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire. Such an incident was reported Monday near Aita ash-Shaab.
The ceasefire was meant to see Israel withdraw entirely from Lebanon after the war, and while some troops did move out of Lebanese towns and villages, they also constructed five military outposts inside Lebanon, which they say they intend to keep for the foreseeable future.
