The 650 Spanish soldiers deployed as part of the UN mission in Lebanon are experiencing their most difficult hours after the start of the land invasion of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the south of the country and the escalation of violence between the Israeli army and the paramilitary group Hezbollah.
“Terrorists have been launching rockets since very close to us”, they say to questions from EL ESPAÑOL. The tremors have been particularly noticed in the contingent in recent hours by the missile fire of the Lebanese militias, very close to the positions of the UNIFIL mission. (United Nations Mission in Lebanon).
“It’s shaking and scary,” said the military commanders present on the scene.I Sector East headquarters, Miguel de Cervantes base, in the town of Marjayún.
The situation is even more uncertain after Iran launched an air attack with dozens of missiles against Israel on Tuesday afternoon, in retaliation for its ground invasion of Lebanon.
In recent hours, according to sources consulted within the detachment, Israel asked General Aroldo Lázaro, Force Commander in front of 10,000 blue helmets of UNIFIL, to withdraw all its positions towards the main bases. The head of mission rejected this request. “Displaced civilians are expected,” say the sources consulted, due to the escalation of hostilities.
STATEMENT:
Yesterday, the IDF informed UNIFIL of its intention to undertake limited ground raids in Lebanon.
– UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 1, 2024
The Ministry of Defense emphasizes, however, that the Spanish army is in perfect condition and that the refugees spent the night in security bunkers: “They take security measures and follow protocols.”
Images of bombings in the area were broadcast on social networks as if they were directed against the detachment in which the Spanish troops are located. The General Staff of Defense (EMAD) denies: “There was no no type of harassment towards our base. Our staff is doing well“.
During the night from Monday to Tuesday, local media, such as the Lebanese National Agency, however detailed the bombings in the Marjayun region. According to military sources on the ground, Hezbollah terrorists They continue to launch projectiles from positions near the UNIFIL baseas they did in previous months.
Officially, the invasion of southern Lebanon began early Monday morning. The Israel Defense Forces announced around 2 a.m. (1 a.m. Spanish Peninsula Time) that they had begun an operation “limited, localized and selective” land incursions in Lebanese territory. The objective, they detailed in a press release, is to dismantle Hezbollah’s positions and infrastructure in southern Lebanon so that Shiite militias cannot continue to attack northern Israel.
The operation, which was named Northern Arrows and was accompanied by aerial fire and artillery, had been previously approved by the cabinet of Benjamin Netanyahu.
And that’s not all: the United States knew in advance of its partner’s planned ground incursion into the Middle East.And “imminently” after weeks of intense bombing (also in Beirut) and the elimination of almost the entire Hezbollah leadership (including the group’s leader, Hasan Nasrallah).
Message from UNIFIL
Similarly, on Monday, Israel also notified the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon of its intention to cross the Lebanese border. In response, in recent hours, UNIFIL issued a statement expressing its opinion on what it describes as a “dangerous event”. But for now, “the peacekeepers remain at their posts”. “We periodically adjust our posture and activities and have emergency plans ready to be activated if absolutely necessary,” they detail.
“The safety of peacekeeping personnel is of the utmost importance and all stakeholders are reminded of their obligation to respect it. Any crossing into Lebanon constitutes a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a violation of Resolution 1701. We urge all actors to refrain from such acts, which will only lead to more violence and “to bloodshed”, they say from the mission. blue helmets
Resolution 1701 is the UN declaration that ended to the war of 2006 and which urged Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon below the so-called Blue Line, and Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River. This leaves an intermediate space between the two countries, a buffer zone of approximately 32 kilometers from where the pro-Iranian paramilitary organization has never withdrawn and where, over the past year, most attacks from both sides have been concentrated.
This is where Israeli troops say they are waging “intense fighting” against militants en route to the river. That is to say towards the northern line of the buffer zone. It is in this strip of land cut off between the two territories that they are deployed the 10,000 UN peacekeepersfrom 50 countries. Among them, the 650 Spanish soldiers installed.
In all these years, since the mission began 18 years ago, Spain has lost 16 of his soldiers due to various attacks in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.
Evacuation plan: “ready”
The Spanish government assured Tuesday that it was following “with the greatest concern” the escalation of tensions in Lebanon. However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albaresannounced that it would not yet activate the evacuation plan that it has prepared – and which it has not detailed for security reasons – while waiting to see if the situation worsens.
“The Spaniards who are in Lebanon can have the certainty and security that as soon as we consider that conditions have unfortunately deteriorated so much that an evacuation is necessary, we will do so.”
To this end, he said at a press conference, he is in contact with the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, “for the moment when we make the political decision to continue the evacuation plan” . For the moment, Albares has requested to the thousand nationals who are still in the country to leave it as quickly as possible via commercial flights.
