UN says Lebanon mission attacked 30 times in October amid Israeli invasion
The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon reports over 30 attacks resulting in property damage or injuries among its forces this month, amid Israel’s calls for the mission to vacate its positions, which UNIFIL has firmly rejected.
Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), speaking from Beirut on Wednesday, said that tensions have escalated significantly in recent weeks.
He noted that this month, of the 30 reported incidents, about 20 were from Israeli fire or action, with seven of these incidents clearly deemed intentional.
“What has been very concerning are incidents where peacekeepers performing their monitoring tasks, as well as our cameras, lighting and entire watchtowers, have been deliberately targeted by the Israeli forces,” Tenenti said in the video conference.
He added that UNIFIL continues to remain in its positions in southern Lebanon, monitoring the situation and providing updates to the Security Council.
Tenenti reported that while most residents in southern Lebanon have evacuated, thousands remain trapped in villages facing dire conditions and lacking access to essential resources amid ongoing shelling, which he said has been challenging to bring assistance to local populations.
UNIFIL has repeatedly criticized Israel for targeting its troops and attacks on its peacekeepers in a series of incidents in recent weeks that resulted in injuries and damage to its bases.
Israel has demanded that UNIFIL leave its positions in southern Lebanon, but the UN maintains that the mission is not going anywhere.
The Israeli regime is trying to take control of Lebanon's borders and push back Hezbollah, with the apparent aim of enabling the resettlement of Israeli settlers in the northern region.
UNIFIL, manned with military troops recruited from the armed forces of some 50 countries, is tasked with monitoring a ceasefire that ended a 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah.
The body was first established in 1978 as an interim force to confirm Israeli troops' withdrawal after occupying southern Lebanon.
Israel has mounted a massive air and ground offensive in Lebanon since September against what it claims to be Hezbollah targets in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and the group over the war on the Gaza Strip.
More than 2,700 people have been killed and nearly 12,500 injured in Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.
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