JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said its forces fired at a threat near a UN peacekeeping mission position on Friday in southern Lebanon, and acknowledged that a “hit” was responsible for wounding two people, after an inital examination of the incident.
Israeli “soldiers operating in southern Lebanon identified an immediate threat against them. The soldiers responded with fire toward the threat. An initial examination indicates that during the incident, a hit was identified on a UNIFIL post, located approximately 50 meters (yards) from the source of the threat, resulting in the injury of two UNIFIL personnel,” the statement said.
It came after the UN mission said two of its peacekeepers were injured after explosions close to an observation tower at its Naqura headquarters.
It was the second incident of its kind reported by UNIFIL in two days, after two other Blue Helmets were injured on Thursday, sparking global condemnation.
Hours before Friday’s incident, “the IDF instructed UNIFIL personnel to enter into protected spaces and remain there. This instruction was in place at the time of the incident,” the military added.
The statement came shortly after the military said it was “conducting a thorough review” to determine details of attacks on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, after the four mission members were injured.
“The IDF expresses deep concern over incidents of this kind and is currently conducting a thorough review at the highest levels of command to determine the details,” the military said.
UN peacekeepers patrolling the Lebanese side of the border with Israel have been thrust into the violence of the Israel-Hezbollah war that has killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, and displaced a million others.
Israeli army says fired at ‘immediate threat’ near UN position in Lebanon
https://arab.news/c7cmt
Israeli army says fired at ‘immediate threat’ near UN position in Lebanon
- An initial examination indicates that during the incident, a hit was identified on a UNIFIL post
- It came after the UN mission said two of its peacekeepers were injured after explosions close to an observation tower at its Naqura headquarters
Israel army ‘temporarily suspends’ strike on south Lebanon
- The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it would “temporarily” suspend a strike planned for Saturday that was intended to target what it described as Hezbollah military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
A November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, which broke out after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
But Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure to stop the group from rearming.
The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately.
But later Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said “the strike was temporarily suspended,” adding that the military “continues to monitor the target.”
The suspension came after the Lebanese army “requested access again to the specified site... and to address the breach of the agreement,” he said on X.
Adraee added that the military would “not allow” Hezbollah to “redeploy or rearm.”
The year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism includes the United Nations, the United States and France.
A Lebanese security source said the army had previously tried to search the building that the Israeli military wanted to target but could not because of objections from residents.
But the source told AFP that the Lebanese army was able to enter and search the building after returning a second time, because residents “felt threatened,” adding that they were evacuated over fears of a strike.
