Two peacekeepers injured as Israel attacks UN base in Lebanon

The United Nations (UN) has warned of a humanitarian law breach after two peacekeepers were injured when Israel attacked a UN base in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces have “repeatedly hit” UN positions in the last 24 hours, including “deliberately” firing at security cameras, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said.

UNIFIL said, “Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law”, adding that it was following up with the Israeli military.

Also, in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on central Beirut on Thursday night, Lebanon’s health ministry said 22 people were killed and 117 others injured.
Rescue efforts are still ongoing, the Lebanese ministry said.

One of the strikes hit the lower half of an eight-story apartment building in the area of Ras al-Nabaa, according to the Guardian.

The second strike, in the area of Burj Abi Haidar, collapsed an entire building, which was engulfed in flames.

There was no immediate statement from the Israeli military, which has launched frequent strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in recent weeks.

Also on Thursday, Hezbollah said it had fired a missile salvo at Israeli forces as they were trying to pull casualties out of the Ras al-Naqoura area, and they were directly hit.

Earlier, the Israeli military confirmed its troops opened fire in the area of the UN peacekeeping mission’s base in southern Lebanon. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hezbollah fighters operate from within and near civilian areas in southern Lebanon, including areas near UNIFIL posts.

Israel then issued a “recommendation” advising UNIFIL to move north. Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, said in a statement reported by Reuters: “Our recommendation is that Unifil relocate 5 km (3 miles) north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies and while the situation along the Blue Line remains volatile as a result of Hezbollah’s aggression.”

He added that Israel “has no desire to be in Lebanon, but it will do what is necessary” to force Hezbollah away from its northern border, so that its 70,000 residents can return to their homes in northern Israel.

The casualties in the latest attack bring the total figure to 2,169 killed and 10,212 wounded over the past year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, AP reported.

The report also recorded 61 airstrikes and incidents of shelling in the past day, mostly concentrated in southern Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut and the Bekaa Valley.

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About 1,000 centres – including educational complexes, vocational institutes, universities and other institutions – are sheltering 186,400 people displaced by the Israeli offensive in Lebanon, the report said.

Among these shelters, 822 have reached full capacity. Overall, the total number of displaced individuals in Lebanon stands at 1.2 million.