- Israel acknowledged that its forces opened fire in the area, and said that Hezbollah militants were active near UN posts. Italy, a major contributor of troops to the UN peacekeeping force, said the act “may constitute a war crime” while the US said it was “deeply concerned”.
- The peacekeeping mission last week rejected Israel’s demand to “relocate” from some of its positions in southern Lebanon, where the IDF has been attacking Hezbollah positions it claimed. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, has about 10,000 peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon. It has been calling for a ceasefire since fighting between the IDF and militant group Hezbollah escalated on September 23.
- The UN mission confirmed that two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired a shell toward an observation tower at UNIFIL headquarters in Nakura, southern Lebanon, hitting the tower directly.
- It said the peacekeepers were not seriously injured, “but they remain in hospital.” They are Indonesian citizens, a UNIFIL spokesman said. Indonesia is also a major contributor of troops to UNIFIL.
- Indonesia’s UN ambassador Hari Prabowo said the incident “clearly demonstrates how Israel has placed itself above international law, above impunity and above our shared values of peace.” Israel claimed that its forces “opened fire on the area” of the UNIFIL base after UN forces were told to take shelter.
- Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said that the attack and other incidents that UNIFIL attributed to Israel “could constitute war crimes”, and asked for clarification because “it was not a mistake”. The Defense Minister described the firing as intolerable and lodged a protest with his Israeli counterpart and the country’s ambassador to Italy.
- The White House said it was “deeply concerned”. The White House said, “We understand that Israel is conducting targeted operations along the Blue Line to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure… It is important that they do not threaten the safety of UN peacekeepers.”
- Spain’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemns the Israeli firing on UNIFIL headquarters”, which it called a “serious violation of international law”. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, who has about 370 troops in the mission in the country, said, “Any shooting around UNIFIL troops or facilities is reckless and must be stopped”.
- “UNIFIL headquarters and surrounding targets have been repeatedly attacked,” the mission said. On Wednesday, UNIFIL said, “IDF soldiers deliberately opened fire and destroyed surveillance cameras around a location Deactivated.”
- UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said peacekeepers were at “grave risk” and as of Sunday 300 Blue Helmets had been temporarily transferred to larger bases “with the movement of another 200 planned. ” He said UNIFIL’s presence in the most affected locations would be reduced by 25 percent. “The safety of peacekeepers is now increasingly under threat,” Mr Lacroix told the UN Security Council on Thursday.
