UNIFIL soldiers in southern Lebanon.(Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement that its troops came under fire “on three separate occasions while conducting patrols around their bases in Yater, Qalawieh, and Deir Kifa.”
According to UNIFIL, the fire came “likely from non-state armed groups,” a probable reference to Hezbollah, which has redeployed in southern Lebanon amid clashes with the Israeli army.
“The fire in Yatar hit as close as five metres from the peacekeepers. The sources of fire in the two other incidents were about 100 and 200 metres away, respectively," the U.N. force said.
It added that “no peacekeeper was injured. wo patrols returned fire in self-defense and after brief exchanges, the patrols resumed their planned activities. UNIFIL noted that “The presence of weapons outside State control in the UNIFIL area of operations is a violation of Security Council Resolution 1701."
Although UNIFIL has already been targeted at least twice by Israel since early March, these are the first instances of fire coming from Lebanese territory since the outbreak of the new war in Lebanon. During the war in the fall of 2024, attacks on UNIFIL attributed to Hezbollah or affiliated groups were also recorded.
