UNIFIL denounces Israeli gunfire near its troops UNIFIL as a 'worrying trend'

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Friday denounced two "incidents" in which the Israeli army fired near peacekeepers outside Kfar Shuba, in the Hasbaya district, with no injuries reported. "Incidents of this type occur with excessive frequency and constitute a worrying trend," the U.N. force said in its statement.

About "15 rounds of small arms fire fell within less than 50 meters" of the peacekeepers on Friday, before "less than 20 minutes later, soldiers from a second patrol in the same area reported about a hundred rounds of machine-gun fire targeting a location about 50 meters away from them," UNIFIL reported. No damage or injuries were reported in either case, the force said.

The Israeli army was identified by peacekeepers as the source of the gunfire, coming from a position inside Israeli territory. The peacekeepers "sent a request for a cease-fire through liaison channels." UNIFIL added that the Israeli army had been informed in advance of "planned activities in these areas, in line with standard practices for patrols conducted in sensitive sectors near the Blue Line," which serves as a provisional border between Lebanon and Israel.

UNIFIL again denounced the "excessive frequency" of such incidents and reports a "worrying trend." The mission recalled that “attacks targeting peacekeepers, or occurring in their immediate vicinity, represent grave violations of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701,” which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Today, the resolution serves as the framework for the cease-fire agreement signed in late November 2024, after more than 13 months of war between the two sides. UNIFIL finally called on the Israeli army to "end aggressive behavior and attacks against or near peacekeepers."

Last Friday, heavy machine-gun fire from Israeli army positions south of the Blue Line took place in the morning, “near a UNIFIL patrol” inspecting a checkpoint in the village of Bastara (Hasbaya), and a grenade exploded nearby, the U.N. force announced. On Dec. 9, Israeli forces fired on one of its patrols in South Lebanon.