Drone attack
UN throws Israel “heavy attack” on blue helmets
A drone of the Israeli army has fired grenades on UN blue helmet troops in the South Libanon. That was a “serious” incident, the UN mission said.
The UN mission in Lebanon (Unifil) has accused Israel of a drone attack on blue helmets. “Yesterday morning, drones from the Israeli forces thrown four grenades near Unifil peace troops,” said the UN mission on Wednesday. A grenade was taken 20 meters away by UN employees and their vehicles, three other grenades within a radius of around a hundred meters. Israel rejected the allegation of a targeted attack on the blue helmets.
It was “one of the most serious attacks on unifil staff and ownership since the ceasefire agreement” in November of last year, the UN mission continued. The Unifil employees therefore removed roadblocks at the time of the attacks, which “disabled access to an UN position”. According to the UN mission, the Israeli forces were informed in advance about the planned work near the Lebanese border southeast of the village of Marwahin.
IDF denies targeted attack on UN blue helmets
The Israeli army denied that the blue helmets have specifically attacked. The soldiers had found a “suspicious activity” and used “several glare grenades” to “ward off the potential threat”, an army spokesman in the online service X. The UN employees were “not deliberately shot at”.
France condemned the incident. The UN mission must be able to “carry out its mandate without restriction and to perceive its freedom of movement,” said the Foreign Ministry in Paris.
In November 2024, a ceasefire which has been ending for more than a year between Israel and the Pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon had to end. However, Israel accuses the Hisbollah of continuing to be militarily active in the border area-and regularly attacks Hisbollah targets with this reason.
UN mission in Lebanon ends at the end of 2016
The Unifil Peace Troop has been stationed in Lebanon since 1978, and it includes more than 10,800 soldiers and civilians. Last week, the UN Security Council in New York decided to end the UN peace mission in the south of Lebanon by the end of 2026.
The mission was originally launched to act as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon. Since the resolution 1701 passed by the UN Security Council in 2006, however, the mandate of the blue helmet troop had been significantly expanded since the 1701 resolution in Lebanon and Israel.
The Hisbollah-whose declared goal is the annihilation of Israel-started immediately after the beginning of the Gaza War in October 2023 with increased rocket fire on Israel. The Israeli army reacted with massive air strikes to destinations in Lebanon and finally with a soil offensive. Thousands of people were driven out on both sides of the border.
AFP
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
