Israel has shelled three positions controlled by the UN peacekeeping force Unifil in southern Lebanon, Andrea Tenenti, Unifil’s spokesperson in Lebanon, told Norwegian VG. According to Unifil, an Israeli tank fired at a guard tower in Naquora, causing two Indonesian UN soldiers to fall and sustain minor injuries.
Andrea Tenenti also reports on several other Israeli attacks on Unifil positions. Among other things, shots were fired at an entrance to a bunker where peacekeeping forces were seeking shelter.
“Israeli soldiers allegedly shot at and destroyed surveillance cameras at another UN position,” Tenenti further states.
“Line Crossed”
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell condemns in a post on X “this unacceptable act, which cannot be justified” and reiterates the Union’s support for Unifil.
“Another line has been dangerously crossed in Lebanon: the IDF’s shelling of UN peacekeepers whose positions are known,” writes Borrell, who uses an acronym for Israel’s military (IDF).
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto has also directed a protest against his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant and the Israeli ambassador in the country, due to the incident.
UNIFIL has about 10,000 peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon.
Attack against road
Iran-backed Hezbollah is reported to have fired about 50 rockets at northern Israel, several of which are said to have been shot down by air defenses.
The Israeli military has carried out more than 110 airstrikes against the country in the past 24 hours.
According to Israel’s military, recent Israeli airstrikes have targeted Hezbollah targets both above and below ground, The Times of Israel reports. Warplanes are reported to have attacked and killed two Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon, among other things.
On Thursday, Israel attacked a road between Lebanon and Syria, according to the opposition London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), according to AFP.
Escalated battles
A quarter of Lebanon is now under Israeli evacuation order, according to the UN human rights agency OHCHR.
“Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis is worsening at an alarming rate,” writes the UN agency for disaster relief, OCHA, in a status report in which Israel is accused of increasing attacks on critical civilian infrastructure.