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UN accuses Israel of violating international law by breaching a southern Lebanon position
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon said Sunday the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) breached one of its positions in southern Lebanon, in violation of international law.
“At around 4:30 a.m., while peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position’s main gate and forcibly entered the position. They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said in a statement on Sunday.
“The tanks left about 45 minutes later after UNIFIL protested through our liaison mechanism, saying that IDF presence was putting peacekeepers in danger.”
UNIFIL said the IDF’s actions are a “flagrant violation of international law and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006),” adding that it has requested an explanation from the Israeli military over what it called “shocking violations.”
In addition to its position being breached, UNIFIL also said 15 of its soldiers are receiving treatment after another incident in the same area.
“At around 6:40 a.m., peacekeepers at the same position reported the firing of several rounds 100 metres north, which emitted smoke. Despite putting on protective masks, fifteen peacekeepers suffered effects, including skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions, after the smoke entered the camp,” the statement read, without indicating who had fired the rounds.
Lastly, UNIFIL said the IDF had stopped what it said was a “critical logistical movement” near Meiss el Jabal, denying it passage.
“We remind the IDF and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times,” the statement also read.
‘Shocking violations’: UN peacekeepers demand Israel to explain attacks
The Israeli army must obey its “obligation to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property” at the Lebanon border, the force said after the latest attack.
The peacekeepers said in addition to the assault this morning, Israeli forces denied passage of a “critical UNIFIL logistical movement” yesterday. “Breaching and entering a UN position is a further flagrant violation of international law and Security Council resolution 1701,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
“We have requested an explanation from the [Israeli military] from these shocking violations.”
What’s next after Israeli troops again target UN base?
International concerns continue to rise after the Israeli military’s latest assault on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
UNIFIL’s task with more than 10,000 soldiers has been to monitor compliance with a ceasefire following the 2006 Lebanon war. It has so far refused Israeli army orders to leave.
“The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier. He accused UN chief Antonio Guterres of refusing to do so.
The United States and European countries have demanded that Israeli forces stop firing at the peacekeepers. On Friday, US President Joe Biden said he was “absolutely, positively” telling Israel to stop.
Israel’s Gallant: Hezbollah won’t be allowed to return to south Lebanon
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says Hezbollah will not be allowed to return to southern Lebanon’s border villages as the army continues its ground assault on the area.
“We will not allow the terrorists back to these places. This is vital to ensure the safety of [Israel’s] northern residents,” Gallant said in a video statement from the Israel-Lebanon border.
The Israeli army’s two-week incursion has so far been costly, with troops being killed and wounded and no apparent strategic gains. At least 25 soldiers were injured during fighting with Hezbollah along the border on Sunday.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant visits an airbase
Destruction on southern Lebanese city "painful to watch," rescue worker tells CNN
The scale of destruction, explosions and fires resulting from Israeli airstrikes on Nabatiyeh commercial center on Saturday is “shocking and painful to watch,” civil defense official Hussein Faqih told CNN on Sunday.
“It’s the first time to see such destructive strike in Nabatiyeh over the past year,” Faqih, the director of the Lebanese Civil defense in Nabatiyeh, told CNN over the phone. “It took hours to just control the fires in 20 locations,” he said. Rescue workers were still removing the rubble through Sunday afternoon, he added.
One person was killed and 12 others injured and around 15 buildings and 30 shops were either destroyed or damaged including the nearby Old Mosque, he said.
Faqih said that if it weren’t for the mass displacement of residents fleeing the bombardment the past weeks, this strike “would have resulted in a massacre. If it happened during the day, it would have been a massacre,” he added.
