The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has recorded more than 30 incidents in October resulting in property damage or injury to its soldiers, amid Israel’s repeated calls on peacekeepers to abandon their positions.
Of the 30 incidents this month, “about 20 of those we could attribute to [Israeli military] fire or actions, with seven being clearly deliberate,” UNIFIL’s spokesman Andrea Tenenti told a news conference on Wednesday.
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For about a dozen other incidents, the origin of fire could not be determined.
“What has been very concerning are incidents where peacekeepers performing their monitoring tasks, as well as our cameras, lighting and entire watchtowers, have been deliberately targeted by the [Israeli military],” Tenenti said.
“To be clear, the actions of both the [Israeli military] and Hezbollah are putting peacekeepers in danger,” he added.
On October 29, a rocket fired by Hezbollah or an affiliated group hit the headquarters of the UN mission in the Lebanese town of Naqoura.
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UNIFIL issued a statement saying a projectile fired from north of the site had set a vehicle workshop ablaze.
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Eight Austrian soldiers suffered superficial injuries as a result of the incident, Austria’s Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.
“We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and demand that it be investigated immediately,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that it was not clear where the attack came from and none of the soldiers needed urgent medical care.
On October 16, UN peacekeepers said Israeli forces fired at one of their positions in Kfar Kila in a “direct and apparently deliberate” attack that damaged a watchtower.
Days earlier, UNIFIL said Israeli soldiers “forcibly entered” a UNIFIL position near the village of Ramyah, crossing the UN-mandated Blue Line, the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon, with two tanks. Israeli soldiers later fired smoke rounds near peacekeepers, leaving 15 personnel suffering from skin irritation and gastrointestinal issues.
On October 10, two peacekeepers were injured after an Israeli tank “fired its weapon” at a guard tower at the group’s headquarters in the border town of Naqoura.
UNIFIL is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel, an area that has seen more than a year of fighting that turned into fierce clashes this month between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah fighters.
Israel claims UN forces provide cover for Hezbollah and has told UNIFIL to evacuate peacekeepers from southern Lebanon for their own safety.
The peace force has refused to leave the area and pledged to continue its work, which includes coordinating the delivery of humanitarian aid by UN agencies and their local partners.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a televised interview with Lebanese broadcaster Al Jadeed that a phone call with the Unites States Middle East envoy, Amos Hochstein, “suggested to me that perhaps we could reach a ceasefire in the coming days”.
Hochstein will visit Israel on Thursday, while CIA Director William Burns travels to Egypt, the White House said, as the US seeks to de-escalate tensions in the region.
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