Israeli Troops Fire on UN Peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon

Two peacekeepers were wounded by an IDF tank

The UN’s peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, said Thursday that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers fired on its positions multiple times, and two peacekeepers were wounded by an Israeli tank.

UNIFIL said its headquarters in the town of Naqoura and several nearby positions came under repeated Israeli attacks.

“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,” UNIFIL said in a statement.

UNIFIL said the injuries were not serious, but the two wounded peacekeepers remain in the hospital. The statement said the IDF also fired on a UN position in the town of Labbouneh, “hitting the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering and damaging vehicles and a communications system.”

A day earlier, UNIFIL said Israeli troops “deliberately fired at and disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras.”

The Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers came after the Israeli military told UNIFIL to abandon its positions in southern Lebanon. UNIFIL and Ireland, which has a number of peacekeepers deployed in the area, both rejected the Israeli call. The Irish Times reported that no Irish peacekeepers were wounded by the Israeli attack.

It’s estimated about 15,000 Israeli troops have invaded southern Lebanon, where they are engaging in battles with Hezbollah fighters. Israeli airstrikes also continue to pound Lebanon, with dozens of people being killed every day.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.