According to UN soldiers in Lebanon, an Israeli tank fired on one of their watchtowers. The Merkava tank opened fire near Kfar Kela early in the morning, the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL said in a statement on Wednesday. The tower was damaged and two cameras were destroyed. There was initially no statement from Israel.
“Once again we see direct and apparently deliberate fire on a UNIFIL position,” the statement said. The UN observers called on the Israeli military “and other actors” to fulfill their obligations and ensure the security of UN personnel and property. The inviolability of the United Nations and its property must be respected.
Since the start of an Israeli ground operation against Hezbollah militia positions in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL positions have also been attacked. Five peacekeepers were injured. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called on the UN to withdraw UNIFIL troops from the fighting areas in southern Lebanon. However, the European troop contributors rejected this request after a joint video conference on Wednesday.
Tanner: Europeans agree to retain UNIFIL
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) reported political unity on Wednesday after a video conference with the 16 European troop contributors to the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL): Despite the repeated shelling of the UN peacekeepers, the EU countries involved “agree that the mission remains intact,” Tanner told APA. There are currently around 160 Austrian soldiers stationed in Lebanon.
“A withdrawal or non-fulfillment of the mandate would question or undermine the meaning and importance of the United Nations. We cannot allow that, especially in the current phase,” emphasized Tanner. Concern was also expressed at the meeting initiated by the defense ministers of Italy and France. The attacks against the UN soldiers “were seen as a breach of international humanitarian law.”
The UNIFIL peacekeeping force has been stationed in Lebanon since 1978 and includes more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians. Since Resolution 1701, passed by the UN Security Council after the Lebanon War in 2006, the tasks of the Blue Helmet Force have been significantly expanded. The resolution stipulates, among other things, that only UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army troops should be deployed in the border area with Israel. Hezbollah remained there regardless.