Beirut: Israeli troops fired upon UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, with Israel attributing the incident to “poor weather conditions” that led the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to mistake the blue-helmeted UNIFIL peacekeepers for “suspects.” The IDF troops reportedly fired “warning shots” during the incident on Sunday.
According to Deutsche Welle, a statement from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) confirmed that Israeli forces “fired on UNIFIL peacekeepers from a Merkava tank from near a position Israel has established in Lebanese territory.” The statement noted that heavy machine gun rounds landed approximately 5 meters (16.5 feet) from the peacekeepers, although no injuries were reported.
Israel explained that it had identified “two suspects” in the El Hamames area of southern Lebanon and subsequently fired warning shots, prompting the suspects to distance themselves. Later, a review clarified that the suspects were actually UN soldiers conducting a patrol and were misidentified due to the adverse weather. The IDF emphasized that no deliberate fire was aimed at the UNIFIL soldiers.
The UN peacekeepers were reportedly pinned down for about 30 minutes until the IDF soldiers withdrew and they could safely depart the area.
UNIFIL officials described the incident as “a serious violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701,” which mandates that no armed forces other than UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese military operate in southern Lebanon. UN peacekeepers, in collaboration with the Lebanese army, have been monitoring a truce between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants. This ceasefire was established following clashes that erupted after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The terms of the current ceasefire agreement call for Hezbollah to disarm in southern Lebanon and for Israel to vacate all positions inside Lebanon. However, Israel has retained five strategically significant positions and continues to conduct strikes from these locations. While Israel claims to target Hezbollah fighters, Lebanon accuses Israel of infringing on its sovereignty, destabilizing the region, and hindering the full deployment of the Lebanese army in the south.
Lebanon has expressed that its forces are collaborating with international allies to halt the ongoing ceasefire violations. UNIFIL reiterated that this incident is not an isolated case of Israel endangering the lives of UN peacekeepers and urged the IDF to stop any aggressive actions near peacekeepers.