The UN peacekeeping force in LebanonUnifil, demanded, this Sunday 13th, “explanations” from the Israeli Army for invading one of its positions, after Israel asked the entity to remove its blue helmets from the border, where its soldiers are fighting fierce battles with the Hezbollah.
Unifil noted that two Israeli tanks “destroyed the main gate” “forcibly entered” one of its positions near the border and remained there “for about 45 minutes.”
It also reported that Israeli fire at the site generated smoke that caused “skin irritations and gastrointestinal reactions in 15 peacekeepers.”
Shortly before, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahuurged the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, to leave Unifil forces “out of danger”, who on Thursday had already accused the Israeli Army of “repeated” and “deliberate” shooting at their facilities.
The United Nations, with which Israel has terrible relations, raised its voice at a time when Israel is intensifying bombings in Lebanon and fighting bloody ground combat against Hezbollah.
This Sunday, Pope Francis asked that the strength of the UN be “respected”.
The pro-Iranian Islamist movement said its militiamen were fighting “with automatic weapons” and “rockets” against Israeli forces in at least four villages bordering Israel.
Hezbollah opened a front on Israel’s northern border on October 8, 2023, in support of its allies in Israel. Hamaswho the day before launched a deadly incursion into southern Israel, giving rise to the war in Gaza.
Israel intensified the military campaign against pro-Iranian militia on September 23 and a week later began ground incursions into Lebanon.
In one year, more than 2,100 people died in Lebanon in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israelabout 1,200 of them since September 23, according to a count by AFP based on official figures.
According to the UN, there are around 700,000 internally displaced people.
After more than a year of fighting, Israel continues its offensive in the Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas. The Army mainly bombs the Jabaliya region, in the north, where it accuses Hamas of reorganizing its forces.
In their October 7, 2023, attack on Israeli soil, Hamas militiamen killed 1,206 people, most of them civilians, according to a tally by the AFP based on official Israeli figures and which includes hostages killed in captivity in Gaza.
At least 42,227 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have died in the Israeli offensive in the territory so faraccording to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, considered reliable by the UN.
Iran, ready for a “war situation”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant assured that his country will prevent Hezbollah militiamen from returning to fighting positions on the border, even when Israeli troops withdraw from Lebanon.
Israeli authorities claim that the objective of the offensive is to remove the Islamist formation from the border areas and allow the return of around 60,000 Israelis displaced by the Shiite group’s rocket fire.
Both the war in Gaza and the conflict in Lebanon were accompanied by an escalation between Israel and Iran, which launched almost 200 missiles at its arch-enemy on October 1.
Israeli leaders are threatening to retaliate for the attack, which the Islamic Republic says was a response to the deaths of Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this Sunday in Baghdad that his country is “fully prepared for a war situation”, although he reiterated that his government wants “peace”.
Faced with threats from Iran, the United States announced the deployment of a THAAD high-altitude anti-missile defense system in Israel.
