BEIRUT: The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon protested on Wednesday at “direct fire” by the Israeli military at one of its positions, the first since a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.
UNIFIL sits on the international committee created to supervise the ceasefire agreement that kicked in on November 27 and ended more than two months of all-out war between Israel and the pro-Iranian militant group.
In a statement, UNIFIL said it was “concerned by the recent aggressive posture of the Israel Defense Forces involving UNIFIL personnel and assets.”
That included an “incident in which a direct fire hit the perimeter of a UNIFIL position south of the village of Kfar Shouba,” which it said took place on Tuesday.
The force said it “observed two shots fired from south of the Blue Line,” in reference to the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon.
It was the first time since November 27 that Israel has directly hit a UNIFIL position, it said.
At the height of the fighting last October, the peacekeeping force accused Israel of having hit its positions or peacekeepers at least 20 times.
As well as the “direct hit” on Tuesday, UNIFIL said there were “at least four other incidents involving IDF fire near its positions” and “other aggressive behavior by the IDF toward peacekeepers performing their operational activities.”
It said that on Tuesday that peacekeepers patrolling alongside the Lebanese army “reported being targeted by a laser from a nearby IDF position.”
“UNIFIL protests all such and we continue to remind all actors of their responsibility to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN assets and premises at all times,” the statement read.
According to the terms of the ceasefire, the Israeli military is required to withdraw completely from southern Lebanon while Hezbollah must dismantle its military assets in the region and withdraw north of the Litani river.
Israel has largely completed its withdrawal, though it insisted on keeping its forces at five points inside Lebanon that it considers strategic and has repeatedly launched strikes inside the country.
The ceasefire is based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires that UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army be the only armed bodies in southern Lebanon.
