Fresh off a Sunday where UNIFIL peacekeepers’ operations were disrupted by Israel dropping unknown chemicals in their vicinity and warning them to “take cover,” the peacekeepers were back on patrol in the area of Kfar Kela, along the Lebanon-Israel border.
Israel wasn’t finished harassing them, however, as the UNIFIL reported that the patrol was confronted by two Israeli drones flying overhead, and when they moved to take defensive action, the drones dropped a grenade about 50 meters from their position.
No injuries were reported in the incident, which is alarmingly common for peacekeepers in Lebanon. Israeli drones are constantly in the air overhead, and their go-to action toward the clearly identifiable peacekeeper patrols is to drop grenades on them.
UNIFIL personnel patrol southern Lebanon | Image is Public Domain
The IDF confirmed that aerial operations would continue, and warned the peacekeepers to “stay away” from areas where they are dropping the chemicals. There has yet to be any identification of what those chemicals actually are.
Since the chemicals were dropped on agricultural land near the border, the suspicion is that it is in some way meant to inhibit farming in southern Lebanon, though the chemicals might well be dropped simply to hassle the UNIFIL patrols. The Lebanese Army has reported taking samples of the chemicals to try to discern their intent.
The UNIFIL added that the Tuesday drones crossing the Blue Line into Lebanese airspace amounted to a violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, though such incursions are vanishingly common lately, with multiple Israeli drone strikes on Lebanon virtually daily, and only some of them targeting the active UN peacekeeping mission.
