Lebanese soldiers and UNIFIL peacekeepers in Kfarchouba, South Lebanon, on August 26, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Wednesday that direct fire from the Israeli army had hit the perimeter of one of its peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon. In an official statement, UNIFIL expressed its concern about the "recent aggressive posture of the Israeli army involving UNIFIL personnel and assets near the Blue Line."
UNIFIL listed several incidents, the latest of which was when "direct fire hit the perimeter of a UNIFIL position south of the village of Kfar Shuba," in Hasbaya district, on Tuesday.
According to the peacekeeping force, this marks the first time a UNIFIL position has been directly hit since the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect on Nov. 27. During this period, UNIFIL has noted at least four other incidents involving Israeli army fire near its positions along the Blue Line.
"In yesterday’s incident, peacekeepers observed two shots fired from south of the Blue Line with one of them hitting the UNIFIL base," the statement reads.
The cease-fire agreement ended 13 months of war, the last two months of which were marked by a heavy bombing campaign and ground invasion by Israel. According to the terms of the agreement, the Israeli army was supposed to have completed its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, where only the Lebanese Army and U.N. peacekeepers were to be deployed.
But despite the truce, Israeli troops continue to occupy five positions in Lebanese territory and its air force carries out near-daily strikes against Lebanon, claiming to target infrastructure or Hezbollah members.
The peacekeeping force said that in recent days, it also "observed other aggressive behaviour by the Israeli army towards peacekeepers performing operational activities in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701:
"Yesterday, UNIFIL peacekeepers performing a patrol with the Lebanese Army near Maroun al-Ras reported being targeted by a laser from a nearby Israeli army position. In another incident south of Alma al-Shaab on May 7, laser beams were pointed towards a UNIFIL patrol from two Israeli Merkava tanks. As the patrol began to move, a drone flew approximately five meters above it, following the patrol for about a kilometre. Separately, on the same day, an aerial vehicle repeatedly flew over a UNIFIL position east of Houla."