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12-10-2024
LONDON/ BEIRUT: The UK government says it is “appalled” by reports that Israel has deliberately fired at UN peacekeeping bases belonging to Unifil in southern Lebanon.
Unifil says its headquarters in the town of Naqoura has been affected by explosions for the second time in 48 hours.
The Lebanese prime minister says all 22 people who were killed in Israeli strikes in Beirut last night were civilians. The Israeli military has not yet commented on the strikes. Reporters on the ground in Beirut say the strikes, which had no prior warning, have led to “shock” and “growing anxiety” today.
The Israeli military has clarified the cause of the blast that killed a 27 year old Thai national on the border between Israel and south Lebanon, saying it was the result of “an explosion of a fallen munition.”
Elsewhere, the Hamas-run health ministry says 61 people have been killed in Gaza within the last 24 hour reporting period.
Israeli attacks on UN peacekeeping force bases in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel, are a breach of international humanitarian law, according to Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the forces which are known as Unifil.
Asked if it was a war crime, he says Unifil is still looking into that but “it’s definitely a very serious development, and a very very serious violation”.
He tells media that there were several attacks in recent days, with two people injured yesterday. “It looks more of a deliberate attack against our troops, who have been in the south to try to bring back stability at the moment, and it’s very, very challenging,” he says.
He lists attacks on cameras, on lighting inside a base, and on an observation tower inside the headquarters, adding “how can this be a mistake from an army that is pretty well prepared, and they know what they’re doing?”
Unifil says explosions today close to an observation tower which injured two people are still being investigated, to determine who was responsible.
The Israeli military asked UN peacekeepers last week to prepare to pull back from the border, which Unifil has refused to do. Asked if he thinks that Israel is trying to force the peacekeepers to go, Tenenti replies “of course, people can analyze it in this way”.
He says the UN has no plans to evacuate any of its 29 posts close to the “Blue Line”, which is the UN recognized demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon.
A Downing Street spokesperson says the government is “appalled” by reports that Israel has deliberately fired at an observation post belonging to the UN’s peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon.
It follows a statement from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon which said an Israeli tank fired on Unifil facilities in southern Lebanon yesterday, hitting an observation tower and wounding two peacekeepers.
Speaking to journalists at the daily Downing Street briefing, the spokesperson says: “We were appalled to hear those reports and it is vital that peacekeepers and civilians are protected.
“As you know we continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to suffering and bloodshed. It is a reminder of the importance of us all renewing our diplomatic efforts to resolve this.”
Asked if the prime minister would agree with Ireland’s Taoiseach (Irish PM) that Israel had broken international law, the spokesperson says: “All parties must always do everything possible to protect civilians and comply with international law.”
Israel’s military chief and the head of Israeli’s security agency Shin Bet held a situational assessment in southern Lebanon yesterday. (Int’l News Desk)
