2 peacekeepers hurt as Israeli troops fire at 3 UN positions in southern Lebanon

BEIRUT – Israeli troops have opened fire at three positions held by UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, as Israel pressed on with its assault on Hezbollah and told Lebanese civilians not to return to their homes in the south.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said two of its peacekeepers were injured in one of the incidents, when an Israeli tank fired at an observation tower at its main headquarters in Naqoura, hitting the tower and causing the peacekeepers to fall.

There were no casualties in the other two incidents, it said.

“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” Unifil said in a statement, adding that it was following up with the Israeli military.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which is waging a widening offensive in Lebanon against the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said contacts were under way between the US and France with the aim of

reviving a ceasefire

, an apparent reference to diplomatic efforts to clinch a truce Israel rejected in September. There was no immediate comment from Washington or Paris.

The Middle East remained on high alert for further escalation of the conflict that has swept across the region since the

Hamas-led attack on Israel

a year ago, awaiting Israel’s response to an Iranian missile strike last week.

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

spoke on Oct 9

about a potential Israeli retaliation against Iran, in a call both sides described as positive.

Israel says its Lebanon offensive aims to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis who evacuated northern Israel due to cross-border rockets launched by Hezbollah, which opened fire a year ago to support Hamas in Gaza.

Putting peacekeepers in harm’s way

The Unifil peacekeeping force in Lebanon was established in 1978 and expanded following a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. It has around 10,500 personnel, with major contributing nations including France, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia and Ghana.

Unifil said Israeli soldiers had also fired at a UN position in Ras Naqoura “hitting the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering and damaging vehicles and a communications system”.

“An IDF (Israel Defence Forces) drone was observed flying inside the UN position up to the bunker entrance,” Unifil said.

The previous day, Israeli forces had “fired at and disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras”, it added.

They also deliberately fired at and damaged another position, it said.

Unifil had said on Oct 6 that it was “deeply concerned by recent activities” by the Israeli military near a peacekeeper position in south-western Lebanon.

It did not provide details but said the activities were dangerous, and that it was “unacceptable to compromise the safety of UN peacekeepers carrying out their Security Council-mandated tasks”.

In a letter to Israel’s military dated Oct 3 and seen by Reuters, Unifil had objected to Israeli military vehicles and troops positioning themselves “in immediate proximity” to UN positions, “thereby endangering the safety and security of Unifil personnel and premises”.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said an Israeli strike overnight hit a civil defence centre in the village of Derdghaiya, some 10km from the border, killing five paramedics and rescue workers.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,100 Lebanese over the past year, the vast majority of them since Sept 23, when Israel dramatically scaled up its assault with widespread air strikes before later sending soldiers in on the ground. The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah cross-border fire at Israel has killed 53 Israelis, more than half of them civilians. REUTERS