Second Israeli attack on UNIFIL in 48 hours draws ire, envoy summoned

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
11 Oct 2024 18:41
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France has responded by summoning the Israeli ambassador, condemning the attacks as "serious violations of international law."

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A general view of a base of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the Lebanese-Palestinian border, in the southern village of Markaba, Friday, April 7, 2023. (AP)

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Friday warned of "very serious risks" to its peacekeepers after two mission members were injured by explosions near the Palestinian-Lebanese border, the second such attack in two days.

UNIFIL reported that its Naqoura headquarters had been struck twice in 48 hours, with peacekeepers wounded by explosions near an observation tower on Friday, as a spokesperson informed AFP.

Statement:

This morning, UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters was affected by explosions for the second time in the last 48 hours.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 11, 2024

"UNIFIL's Naqura headquarters was affected by explosions for the second time in the last 48 hours. Two peacekeepers were injured after two explosions occurred close to an observation tower," the peacekeeping mission said on Friday morning.

A UNIFIL spokesperson said they were Sri Lankan.

Several blast walls "at our UN position 1-31, near the Blue Line in Labbouneh, fell when an IDF Caterpillar hit the perimeter and IDF tanks moved in the proximity of the UN position," the peacekeeping mission said in its statement.

"These incidents put again UN peacekeepers, who are serving in south Lebanon at the request of the Security Council under resolution 1701 (2006), at very serious risks," it said.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday he urged the Israeli Security Minister to ensure the safety of UNIFIL forces in Lebanon.

"I urged ensuring the safety of UNIFIL forces and coordinating efforts to pivot from military operations to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible," Austin said in a post on X following his call with Yoav Gallant on Thursday night.

Earlier, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry said the Israeli army targeted "watchtowers and the main UNIFIL base in Ras Naqura, and on the Sri Lankan battalion's base, which led to a number of wounded."

Lebanon's official National News Agency said an Israeli "Merkava tank targeted one of the UNIFIL towers on the main road linking Tyre and Naqura," wounding the Sri Lankan personnel.

The attack came after two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured on Thursday, when Israeli fire hit UN positions, drawing international condemnation.

Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 11, 2024

France responded by summoning the Israeli ambassador, condemning the attacks as "serious violations of international law."

France, which contributes 700 troops to UNIFIL, demanded an explanation from "Israel", calling for the immediate cessation of fire.

Other contributors, including Italy and Ireland, also condemned the incidents, with Ireland's Foreign Minister labeling the situation "unacceptable".

The attacks have raised concerns about the safety of the 10,000-strong UNIFIL force stationed in South Lebanon, which has been monitoring the region since the 2006 war on Lebanon.

Human Rights Watch has called for a UN inquiry into the targeting of peacekeepers, adding that any attack on UN personnel violates international law.

The Israeli military has carried out repeated attacks harming United Nations peacekeeping operations in southwestern Lebanon in apparent violation of the laws of war. Israeli forces should cease unlawful attacks.https://t.co/S79TUfipFu pic.twitter.com/6N3vAY8gPw
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) October 11, 2024

UN 'appalled' by rhetoric surrounding war on Lebanon

The United Nations stated Friday it was "appalled" by provocative language surrounding "Israel's" war on Lebanon and urged an end to "bellicose posturing". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Lebanese people this week that if they did not turn on the Lebanese Resistance, Hezbollah, they would face a destiny akin to Palestinians in Gaza.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that the death toll from the Israeli occupation's aggression on Lebanon has reached 2,169, with 10,212 wounded since October 8, 2023.

"We are appalled by sweeping inflammatory language on multiple sides," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, at a Geneva media conference without providing specifics of the inflammatory language on the Lebanese side.

"Recent language threatening Lebanese people as a whole and calling on them to either rise up against Hezbollah or face destruction like Gaza, risks being understood as encouraging or accepting violence directed against civilians and civilian objects, in violation of international law."

She also condemned the "ongoing denigration of the UN, in particular UNRWA," which supports almost six million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, urging that such "toxic" rhetoric must end.

"The killing, destruction, as well as bellicose posturing by those in positions of power, must end," Shamdasani expressed, adding that "widening conflict and progressive escalation put the lives and wellbeing of potentially millions of people across the region at risk."