An Israeli tank fired on the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, resulting in two members of the force being injured, the UN said on Thursday.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said an Israeli army tank had directly hit a UN observation post in the small city of Naqoura.
These are the first casualties among the force since Israel’s ground offensive against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon began last week.
UNIFIL said the peacekeepers were injured after an Israeli tank “directly” hit the watchtower, causing the two to fall.
“The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital,” the statement said.
UNIFIL said its main base in Naqoura and other nearby positions have been “repeatedly hit” during the fighting. Another Israeli attack had struck the entrance to a bunker where UN soldiers had sought shelter. UN vehicles and a communication system had also been damaged.
Israeli army ‘checking’ reports
The Israeli army said it is checking reports of UNIFIL coming under fire.
Israel’s army accuses Hezbollah of abusing areas near UNIFIL bases for its own purposes. Israel’s army was therefore deployed in the Naqoura area, near the UNIFIL base, the military said on Thursday.
Those claims could not be indpendently verified.
The UN mission has been monitoring the border area between Lebanon and Israel for decades. More than 10,000 UN soldiers from more than 50 countries are involved. Many of the UN troops come from Indonesia, Italy and India. The mission includes troops from Germany.
Naqoura is located on the Mediterranean coast and is the first urban centre of significant size in Lebanon near the demarcation line with Israel.
The UNIFIL mission has its headquarters here. This and the surrounding area have been “repeatedly hit,” the UNIFIL spokesman said.
The two UN soldiers were not seriously injured, but were in hospital after the attack. Another Israeli attack also hit the entrance to a bunker where UN soldiers had sought shelter. UN vehicles and a communication system were also damaged.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell condemned the shelling.
“Another line has been dangerously crossed in Lebanon: IDF shelling of @UN peacekeepers whose positions are known,” Borrell said on X.
“We condemn this inadmissible act, for which there is no justification,” he added.
Lebanon says 22 killed in Israeli strikes on Beirut
At least 22 people were killed and 48 others injured in Israeli strikes on Thursday in Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Health has reported. The number of people injured reached 117 by Thursday evening.
Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported two air raids in central Beirut. The first targeted an eight-storey building in al-Nuwairi, a crowded district.
The second attack targeted a four-storey building in the nearby al-Basta area, and the building completely collapsed as a result, NNA added.
Thursday’s attacks were the third to hit central Beirut since Israel started a military campaign in Lebanon last month targeting the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militia, sparking fears of an all-out regional war.
A resident of al-Nuwairi told dpa, “We heard two loud bangs and suddenly all was on fire and the screams of the wounded were heard.”
Angry residents of the area prevented local and foreign journalists who arrived at the scene following the strikes to approach the buildings.
Hezbollah and Israeli ground forces engage in direct clashes
The Israeli army said it had killed several Hezbollah members at close range in southern Lebanon on Thursday, as it continued a major incursion into the neighbouring country.
The army said its soldiers had also destroyed hundreds of the militia’s weapons, including anti-tank missiles and missile launchers which had been used to target communities across the border in Israel.
Israel also said that attacks overnight hit Hezbollah ammunition depots in the suburbs of Beirut, and that two of the militant group’s commanders were killed in southern Lebanon.
In total, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday morning that 110 Hezbollah targets had been struck over the past day.
According to security sources in Lebanon, Israeli ground troops captured a Hezbollah military post near Maroun al-Ras a few days ago. State security sources in Lebanon also said that Israeli military vehicles had been sighted near the UN soldiers that are stationed near Maroun al-Ras.
The information from the frontline of the fighting could not be verified.
