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Israel wants to remove UNIFIL’s presence from southern Lebanon
Ray Murphy, a professor of law at the University of Galway and a former UN peacekeeper with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said Israel’s ultimate goal is to kick the UN mission out of southern Lebanon to free the area of international observers.
“They do not want to have a UN force that is able to report and observe the activities of the Israeli forces on the ground,” Murphy said. “The Israelis seem to be intent on carrying out a similar campaign in southern Lebanon to that which they just conducted and are continuing to conduct in Gaza. And they must not be allowed to do this.”
Murphy’s comments come soon after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that UNIFIL members leave combat areas in southern Lebanon, warning that their refusal to do so will make them “hostages of Hezbollah”.
Italy says Israeli attack on UN peacekeepers ‘unacceptable’
Israel’s attack on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon was “unacceptable”, Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni told Netanyahu in a phone call.
“Prime Minister Meloni reiterated that it is unacceptable for UNIFIL to have been attacked by the Israeli armed forces,” the Italian premier’s office said in a statement on Sunday.
Meloni emphasised that “the mission operates under the authority of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to contribute to regional stability”, and “stressed the absolute necessity of ensuring the safety of UNIFIL personnel at all times”.
On Sunday, UNIFIL said two Israeli tanks destroyed the gate of the UN peacekeeping site in Ramyah, southern Lebanon. The Israeli army released a statement later saying a tank entered a UNIFIL post during soldier evacuation.
Last week, at least five UN peacekeepers were injured due to Israeli attacks.
Lebanese demand justice for journalist killed in Israeli attack last year
Lebanese journalists and activists have demanded justice for a Reuters news agency journalist Issam Abdallah who was killed a year earlier by Israeli tank fire while covering cross-border fighting in south Lebanon.
Two strikes in quick succession on October 13, 2023, killed Abdallah, 37, and wounded six other journalists. Two investigations have pointed to an Israeli tank being behind the attack but Israel has denied that it targets “civilians, including journalists”.
Friends and acquaintances on Sunday shared photos Abdallah had taken and pictures of him. NGO Legal Agenda posted on social media: “A year after the killing of photographer Issam Abdullah, Israeli impunity continues.”
Lebanese rights group Maharat called on the international community to “implement treaties, resolutions and commitments to protect journalists”. In a post on X, journalist Salman Andary demanded “justice for Issam and for all the victims of this crime”. On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists decried the lack of accountability for Israel over the killing of Abdallah.
