Tag: observers

UN observers wounded by shelling in southern Lebanon


Three United Nations observers and a translator have been wounded by shelling in Rmeish, southern Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping mission said.

Lebanon’s state news agency reported that an Israeli drone strike was behind the explosion, but the Israeli military denied it was responsible.

The UN mission, Unifil, said those hurt were receiving treatment and that it was investigating the blast’s origin.

It comes after rising tensions along the unofficial Israel-Lebanon border.

In a statement, Unifil said a shell had exploded near the group who had been on a foot patrol along the UN-demarcated Blue Line that divides southern Lebanon from Israel.

It described the targeting of peacekeepers as “unacceptable”.

No details have been given about the nationality of the observers or their condition. The Lebanese translator is reported to be stable.

Lebanon’s state run National News Agency said Israeli “enemy drones” raided the area in southern Lebanon where the observers were wounded.

Israel’s military denied this, saying in a statement: “Contrary to the reports, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] did not strike a Unifil vehicle in the area of Rmeish this morning.”

In recent days, tensions have again picked up along the unofficial border between Israel and Lebanon, with casualties on both sides.

Israel and the armed group Hezbollah trade almost daily strikes across the border, which began with the start of the Israel-Gaza war following the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel.

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Muslim militant group with close ties to Iran and an ally of Hamas.

On Friday, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the IDF would increase its attacks against the group in Lebanon, “shifting from repelling to actively pursuing Hezbollah”.

“Wherever they are hiding we will reach them,” he said.



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U.N. military observers wounded while patrolling southern Lebanese border after shell explodes, officials say


Fears of widening conflict in the Middle East


The fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East

02:07

Four United Nations military observers were wounded Saturday while patrolling the southern Lebanese border after a shell exploded near them, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said.

The military observers are part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which supports the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL.

Local Lebanese media, citing security officials, said an Israeli drone strike targeted the observers in the southern village of Wadi Katmoun near the border town of Rmeich. Hezbollah-run television station Al-Manar said the drone strike wounded three officers from Australia, Chile, and Norway, as well as a Lebanese interpreter.

The Israeli military on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, said: “Contrary to the reports, the IDF did not strike a @UNIFIL —vehicle in the area of Rmeish this morning.”

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said they are “investigating the origin of the explosion.”

“The targeting of peacekeepers is unacceptable,” Tenenti told The Associated Press. “We repeat our call for all actors to cease the current heavy exchanges of fire before more people are unnecessarily hurt.”

This came as clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants escalated in recent weeks. Both sides have been exchanging fire since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza broke out, propelling concerns that the near-daily clashes along the border could escalate into a full-scale war as tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the violence.

UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion. The U.N. expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority into the country’s south for the first time in decades.



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Three U.N. observers and a translator wounded in south Lebanon, peacekeeping mission says



BEIRUT — A blast injured several United Nations technical observers outside a southern Lebanese border town on Saturday, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the area said — an incident two security sources told Reuters was the result of an Israeli strike.

The Israeli military’s spokesman, Avichay Adraee, denied that Israeli forces hit a vehicle belonging to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, near the town of Rmeish.

When asked to clarify whether its forces had hit any non-U.N. vehicles, the IDF told NBC News, “We did not strike in the area.”

In a statement, UNIFIL said that three military observers from the U.N. technical observer mission, UNTSO, and one Lebanese language assistant on a foot patrol along the Blue Line were injured “when an explosion occurred near their location.”

“They have now been evacuated for medical treatment,” the statement added. UNIFIL said it was now investigating the origin of the explosion, and has so far not attributed the strike to Israel.  

UNTSO, which monitors the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel is unarmed. UNIFIL is an armed peacekeeping mission.

“All actors have a responsibility under international humanitarian law to ensure protection to non-combatants, including peacekeepers, journalists, medical personnel, and civilians,” UNIFIL said. “We repeat our call for all actors to cease the current heavy exchanges of fire before more people are unnecessarily hurt.”

Israel has been trading fire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon for nearly six months, in parallel with its war with Hamas in Gaza.

Hostilities between Israel and Lebanon have been escalating in recent days. Wednesday became the deadliest day in more than five months of fighting along the border, after a series of Israeli airstrikes killed 16 people in Lebanon, and a barrage of Hezbollah rockets killed one Israeli man.

Israel’s shelling of Lebanon has killed nearly 270 Hezbollah fighters, but has also killed around 50 civilians — including children, medics and journalists — and hit both UNIFIL and the Lebanese army.

In November, UNIFIL said one of its patrols was hit by Israeli gunfire in southern Lebanon, without leaving casualties.

UNIFIL last month said that the Israeli military violated international law by firing on a group of clearly identifiable journalists, killing a Reuters journalist. Israel denies targeting the reporters.



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3 UN military observers, a Lebanese interpreter wounded in blast while patrolling southern border


BEIRUT (AP) — Three United Nations military observers and a Lebanese interpreter were wounded Saturday while patrolling the southern Lebanese border after a shell exploded near them, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said.

The military observers are part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which supports the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL.

The blast came as clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants escalated in recent weeks. Both sides have been exchanging fire since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza broke out, propelling concerns that the near-daily clashes along the border could escalate into a full-scale war.

Local Lebanese media, citing security officials, said an Israeli drone strike targeted the observers in the southern village of Wadi Katmoun near the border town of Rmeich. Hezbollah-run television station Al-Manar said the drone strike wounded three officers from Australia, Chile, and Norway, as well as a Lebanese interpreter.

The Israeli military on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, said: “Contrary to the reports, the IDF did not strike a @UNIFIL —vehicle in the area of Rmeish this morning.”

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said they are “investigating the origin of the explosion.”

“The targeting of peacekeepers is unacceptable,” Tenenti told The Associated Press. “We repeat our call for all actors to cease the current heavy exchanges of fire before more people are unnecessarily hurt.”

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikat condemned the incident in a statement.

UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion. The U.N. expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority into the country’s south for the first time in decades.



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