UN peacekeeper nations condemn ‘attacks’ in troops in Lebanon

As Israel faced a fierce diplomatic backlash over the injuries suffered by five Blue Helmets, UNIFIL accused the Israeli military of ‘deliberately’ firing on its positions.

UNIFIL on patrol in Marjayoun in southern Lebanon on Saturday. Picture: AFP

Some 34 nations that contribute to the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon have “strongly condemned recent attacks” on the peacekeepers after several were wounded during fighting between Israeli and Hezbollah troops.

As Israel faced a fierce diplomatic backlash over the injuries suffered by five Blue Helmets, the peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, accused the Israeli military of “deliberately” firing on its positions.

UNIFIL on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) said its headquarters in Naqoura was hit again, with a peacekeeper struck by gunfire late on Friday and in stable condition. It wasn’t clear who fired.

It occurred a day after Israel’s military fired on the headquarters for a second straight day. Israel, which has warned peacekeepers to leave their positions, didn’t immediately respond to questions.

List of 34 countries that have condemned ‘recent attacks’

“Such actions must stop immediately and should be adequately investigated,” said a joint statement posted on X by the Polish UN mission and signed by 34 nations including Indonesia, Italy and India that contribute troops to UNIFIL.

Other signatories include Ghana, Nepal, Malaysia, Spain, France and China – all countries that have contributed several hundred troops to the force. Australia, which has 12 peacekeepers in the region including southern Lebanon, did not sign the statement.

The 34 contributing countries “reaffirm our full support for ­UNIFIL’s mission and activities, whose principal aim is to bring stabilisation and lasting peace in South Lebanon as well as in the Middle East,” the statement read.

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon spokesman Andrea Tenenti points at Beirut's southern suburbs from his office. Picture: AFP

“We urge the parties of the conflict to respect UNIFIL’s presence, which entails the obligation to guarantee the safety and security of its personnel at all times.”

Lebanon’s health ministry said on Saturday Israeli airstrikes on three sites had killed at least 15 people, raising an earlier toll.

Israel had earlier told residents of south Lebanon not to return home as its troops fought Hezbollah militants in a war that has killed more than 1200 people since September 23.

More than a million people have been forced to flee their homes, Lebanese authorities say.

Hezbollah said it had fired missiles into northern Israel, where air raid sirens sounded and the military said it had intercepted a projectile. The Iran-backed militants have stepped up their attacks on targets in and around Israel’s main northern city of Haifa.

Israel’s military said Hezbollah fired about 320 projectiles into Israel on the weekend of Yom Kippur, which ended at nightfall.

It also said roughly 280 “terror targets” were attacked in Lebanon and Gaza in the same period.

For the third time, it declared a “closed military area” along the Lebanese border in northern Israel. Such measures since late September have preceded ground operations inside Lebanon.

In an interview, Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for UNIFIL said he feared an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah could soon spiral “into a regional conflict with catastrophic impact for everyone”.

There is “no military solution”, Mr Tenenti said.

The UN base at Maroun al-Ras on October 9, left, and September 29. Pictures: Planet Labs via AFP

The UN mission said six peacekeepers had been wounded during fighting in south Lebanon in three days, and Mr Tenenti said “a lot of damage” had been caused to its posts there. He added: “There was a unanimous decision to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the ­Security Council.”

Around Israel, markets were closed and public transport halted as observant Jews fasted and prayed on Yom Kippur. After the holiday, attention is likely to turn again to Israel’s promised retaliation against Iran, which launched around 200 missiles at Israel on October 1.

Tehran said the barrage was retaliation for the killing of top militants and an Iranian general.

Israeli forces have been at war in Gaza since Hamas militants on October 7 last year carried out the worst-ever attack on Israel.

Hezbollah, saying it was acting as a “support” front for Hamas, had been exchanging cross-border fire with Israel for almost a year.

But on September 30, Israel began a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon after intensifying airstrikes on targets there.

UNIFIL, which involves about 9500 troops of some 50 nationalities, is tasked with monitoring a ceasefire that ended a 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah. Its role was bolstered by UN Security Council Resolution 1701 of that year, which stipulated that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in south Lebanon.

At a summit on Friday, French, Italian and Spanish leaders said the “attacks” on UNIFIL peacekeepers violated Resolution 1701 and must end.

AFP