A UNIFIL vehicle in southern Lebanon. (Photo by Matthieu Karam / L'Orient Today)
Three UN peacekeepers were slightly injured when an "explosion" occurred near their "clearly marked UN vehicle" during a patrol around Yarine, in Sour district, southern Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stated on Sunday when contacted by L'Orient Today.
The soldiers on patrol returned "safely to their base," UNIFIL added, emphasizing that it "strongly reminds all parties and actors that it is their responsibility to avoid harming peacekeepers and civilians."
Since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah and Israel have primarily been clashing along the southern Lebanese border with Israel, following Hamas' assault on Israel on October 7.
Earlier on Sunday L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south, Mountasser Abdallah, reported that Israeli warplanes attacked a house in the locality of Dahyra, a village neighboring Yarine. A municipal police officer indicated that "a member of the Ghanaian unit was injured."
According to a UN document dated March 2024, the Ghanaian contingent of the international force covers the border area from Yarine to Yaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district. With 874 soldiers, it represents the largest contribution to UNIFIL, which is composed of 10,031 military personnel from 49 countries.
This is not the first time UN peacekeepers have been targeted in southern Lebanon. In early March, a joint patrol of UNIFIL and the Lebanese army came under fire in the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district).
