THE The United Nations denounced this Sunday that Israeli tanks walked through the doors of a base of its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon and that 15 peacekeepers were injured.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahucalled on the United Nations to evacuate UNIFIL troops from combat zones in Lebanon. Hours later, the force reported what it described as further Israeli violations, including breaking into tanks.
“The time has come remove UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and combat zones,” Netanyahu said in a statement addressed to the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
“The Israeli army “They have repeatedly requested this and have been repeatedly refused, which has the effect of providing human shields for Hezbollah terrorists.”
Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah denied Israel’s accusation that he uses the proximity of the blue helmets for his protection.
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Fifteen peacekeepers have been injured so far in a series of attacks that have hit peacekeeping positions and personnel in recent days, with the majority of attacks attributed by UNIFIL to Israeli forces.
Compared to reactions at the international level, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloniwho is generally one of the strongest defenders of Israel among Western European leaders, spoke with Netanyahu by telephone on Sunday and denounced the Israeli attacks.
Italy has more than a thousand troops in the 10,000-strong UNIFIL, making it one of the largest contributors of personnel. France and Spain, which each have nearly 700 soldiers in their forces, also condemned the Israeli attacks.
“Prime Minister Meloni reiterated how unacceptable it is that UNIFIL being attacked by armed forces Israelis,” the Italian government said in a statement.
Katz on Guterres
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katzreiterated on Sunday that the country had banned the UN chief, Guterresentry, due to what he says is his failure to adequately condemn Iran for a missile attack earlier this month, and for what Katz described as anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli behavior.
UNIFIL was created in 1978 to monitor southern Lebanon. Since then, the region has seen persistent conflict, with the Israeli invasion in 1982, the occupation of southern Lebanon until 2000, and a new five-week war against Hezbollah in 2006.
For his part, the American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austinin a call with Israeli Defense Minister Gallant on Saturday, expressed “deep concern” over reports that Israeli forces fired on peacekeeper positions and urged Israel to ensure the safety and security of the Lebanese army, the Pentagon said.
The deadliest assault
Israel’s assault on Hezbollah over the past three weeksits deadliest summer in Lebanon over several decades, displacing 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes and dealing an unprecedented blow to the group by killing most of its senior leaders.
Israeli officials said UNIFIL had failed to its mission to maintain resolution 1701 of the UN, approved after the 2006 war, which calls for the border area of southern Lebanon to be free of weapons or troops other than those of the Lebanese state.
Endangered
“The Israeli army asked UN peacekeepers almost two weeks ago to prepare to move more than 5 km from the border.”to maintain your safety“, according to an excerpt of the message, seen by Reuters.
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroixtold the Security Council on Thursday that “the security of peacekeepers is increasingly under threat.”
They remained in place, but operational activitieshave practically stopped since September 23 and the Blue Helmets have been confined to the base. Three hundred were temporarily relocated to larger bases.
Attacks on a surveillance tower, cameras, communications equipment and lighting were limited. UNIFIL Surveillance Capabilitiesa UNIFIL spokesperson said on Thursday. UN sources said they feared that Israeli strikes would make it impossible to monitor violations of international law.
The Lebanese government has stated that more than 2,100 people were killed And 10,000 wounds in more than a year of fighting, mainly during the escalation of recent weeks. The count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but includes many men, women and children.
High Alert
The Middle East remains on alert for a further escalation in a year-long war sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In particular, the region prepares for Israel to respond against Iran by a barrage of long-range missiles launched on October 1 in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Iran said on Sunday that has no “red lines” when it comes to self-defense. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi’s comments appear to have been aimed at countering suggestions that Iran would absorb an Israeli attack without further response, as Tehran did earlier this year during the latest Israeli attack on Iran. Iran after an Iranian missile bombardment.
American officials believe that Israel reduced the objectives in its possible reprisals by the bombardment of Iranian missiles, and which would target military and energy infrastructure, NBC reported on Saturday. He said there was no indication that Israel had targeted nuclear facilities or carried out assassinations in Iran.
