Italy accused Israelthis Thursday the 10th, of committing possible “war crimes” after the UN force in Lebanon (Unifil, its acronym in English) reported “repeated” Israeli shots at its positions, including one that injured two peacekeepers.
The Israeli Army assured that before shooting “next to” the base, it had asked UN soldiers to remain “in protected spaces”. However, the incident sparked protests from Washington, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Dublin and Jakarta, in addition to prompting a meeting of the United Nations Security Council this Thursday.
Italy, one of the countries that most forcefully supplies troops, with around 900 soldiers mobilized, indicated that the events “could constitute war crimes”.
Although Israel admitted the shooting in Ras al Naqura, it insisted that Hezbollah militants, against whom it is waging an increasingly intense war, operate close to Israeli positions. HIM.
This is the worst incident recorded by the peacekeeping mission since it announced last week that it had rejected Israel’s demands to “relocate” some of its positions.
The injured soldiers, of Indonesian nationality, “are hospitalized”, but their injuries “are not serious”, explained Unifil.
Indonesia’s ambassador to the UN, Hari Prabowo, reported to the UN Security Council that the attack “clearly shows how Israel has placed itself above international law, impunity and our values of peace”.
‘Serious risks’
International outrage over the incident came in floods.
Spain, which runs Unifil, asked that the safety of blue helmets be “guaranteed” and Ireland classified what happened as an “irresponsible act” that “must stop”.
The White House, for its part, said it is “deeply concerned” by reports that Israel fired at the headquarters of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, a spokesman for the National Security Council said today.
France, which before the incident had asked the Security Council for a meeting on the issue of Lebanon, “condemned any attack on the security” of UN soldiers.
Unifil, which has around 10,000 peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon, has persistently called for a truce since the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah intensified on September 23.
The head of UN peacekeeping forces, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said this Thursday at the Security Council that the international force is running “serious risks” and that, on Sunday, 300 blue helmets had been temporarily relocated to more wide and that the transfer of “another 200” is planned.
Deadly attack in Beirut
On Thursday night, at least 22 people died in two Israeli bombings in central Beirut, in the deadliest attack on the Lebanese capital since Israel and Hezbollah went to open war.
According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, 22 people died and 117 were injured in the airstrikes that, according to the official Lebanese news agency, hit two densely populated residential neighborhoods.
Also on Thursday, Hezbollah claimed to have “destroyed an Israeli tank that was advancing” towards Ras al Naqura and that it fired rockets at another Israeli front that was approaching the border town of Meiss al Jabal.
Since the exchange of artillery fire between Israel and Hezbollah began, more than two thousand people have died in Lebanon, 1,200 of them since the intensification of Israeli bombings on September 23, according to an AFP report based on official figures.
In the Gaza Strip, where Israel is once again intensifying its air strikes and ground operations, the Palestinian Red Crescent announced that 28 people were killed and 54 injured in a bombing attack on a school housing displaced families.
According to a spokesman for the Gaza Civil Defense, Mahmud Bassal, at least 140 people have died in Jabalia since the start of the Israeli operation and “a large number” of civilians are trapped under the rubble, without rescue teams being able to intervene due to the security situation.
For its part, the Israeli Army reported that three of its soldiers died in the north of the Gaza Strip, bringing its casualties to 353 soldiers last year.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, 2023, after the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli territory, which caused the death of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on data Israeli officials.
In retaliation, Israel launched a relentless offensive on the small Palestinian territory, governed by Hamas, in which 42,065 people died, the majority of them civilians, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, which the UN considers reliable.
