The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has reported that four of its soldiers were injured when a rocket hit a base, marking one of three separate incidents in which its troops and bases came under fire on Tuesday.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) stated that four Ghanaian peacekeepers were hurt, with three needing hospital treatment, after a rocket struck a base east of the village of Ramyah, near the Israeli border. The extent of their injuries remains unclear.
Unifil also confirmed that a base in Shama was damaged by rocket fire, with “non-state actors within Lebanon” likely responsible. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), currently conducting a ground invasion of southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, attributed both rocket attacks to the Lebanese armed group, although Hezbollah has not issued a statement.
Additionally, a Unifil patrol came under gunfire while passing through a road northeast of Khirbat Silim, but there were no injuries.
Unifil condemned the attacks on its personnel and infrastructure in a statement shared on social media.
“The pattern of regular attacks – direct or indirect – against peacekeepers must end immediately,” the statement said.
“Any attack against the peacekeepers is a flagrant violation of international laws and resolution 1701, which forms the basis of Unifil’s current mandate.”
According to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the UN was tasked with establishing a demilitarized zone in southern Lebanon, excluding all armed forces except for the Lebanese army.
However, Israel has criticized Unifil for allegedly overlooking the expansion of Hezbollah, which has since become more powerful than the official Lebanese army. Hezbollah is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the UK, the US, and several other nations.
Tensions between Israel and the UN over its peacekeeping operations in southern Lebanon have escalated in recent months, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for the forces to pull out of “combat areas”.
A Unifil spokesman in Geneva said UN peacekeepers were seeing increased levels of violence, with “huge, shocking” destruction across the blue line – the UN-recognised boundary that separates Israel and Lebanon.
Israel’s objective behind the ground invasion and the intensification of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets is to facilitate the return of approximately 60,000 displaced residents from northern communities who fled due to Hezbollah’s rocket attacks.
Hezbollah initiated its offensive the day after the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel last year, asserting it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Over the past year, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of over 3,840 people and injured nearly 15,000, according to the Lebanese health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese army confirmed that three soldiers had died in an Israeli airstrike on a military base in Safarand, with 17 others, including civilians, wounded in the attack.
The ongoing Israeli strikes have forced over one million people to flee, exacerbating the hardships of a country already grappling with a prolonged economic crisis.
According to Israeli authorities, Hezbollah’s attacks have killed at least 31 soldiers and 45 civilians in Israel. Additionally, 45 Israeli soldiers have died in combat in southern Lebanon.
While Israel has severely damaged Hezbollah’s infrastructure and killed numerous leaders, the group continues to launch daily assaults, though with reduced intensity.
Efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah are gaining momentum, with Lebanon’s government set to respond to a ceasefire proposal drafted by the US