Lebanon UN Peacekeepers: "Israeli Attack in South Violates Security Council Resolution"

Israel: "Mistaken Fire... Not Intentional"

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) claimed on November 16 (local time) that it was attacked by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the southern region.

On that day, UNIFIL issued a statement saying, "This morning, the IDF fired at UNIFIL from a Merkava tank near an outpost in southern Lebanon," and added, "Machine gun bullets struck about 5 meters away from peacekeepers who were walking nearby."

Lebanon UN Peacekeeping Forces. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

UNIFIL stated, "We requested the IDF to cease fire through our communication channels, and 30 minutes later, the Merkava tank withdrew into the IDF position, allowing us to safely leave the scene," and added, "Fortunately, there were no injuries."

However, UNIFIL criticized the Israeli military's attack, stating that it "violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 and infringes on Lebanon's sovereignty," and called for an end to the attacks.

According to AFP, the Israeli military explained the incident by saying, "Due to poor weather conditions, we mistakenly identified them as suspected terrorists and fired warning shots," and emphasized, "There was no intention to deliberately fire at the UN peacekeepers."

Since the outbreak of the Gaza Strip war, Israel has continued airstrikes to keep Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian armed faction in Lebanon that supports Hamas, in check. In September of last year, Israel launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon, but a ceasefire was reached after two months through mediation by the United States and France.

However, Israel has continued military actions such as sporadic airstrikes and established five outposts in southern Lebanon, arguing that the ceasefire condition-Hezbollah's withdrawal south of the Litani River and the deployment of Lebanese government forces-has not been properly implemented.

During this period, there have been several attacks targeting UNIFIL. On October 26, an Israeli drone approached UNIFIL troops on patrol near Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon and dropped a grenade, followed by shelling from an Israeli tank. At that time, there were no injuries or equipment damage to UNIFIL. In September, there was also an incident where an Israeli drone dropped a grenade next to UN troops near the "Blue Line," the boundary set by the United Nations between Israel and Lebanon.