The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon says the Merkava tank fired on a UNIFIL position, destroying two surveillance cameras and causing damage to the tower.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported this Wednesday that an Israeli tank fired on its position near Kafer Kela, in the south of the country, in an incident that adds to previous similar reports.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Merkava model tank fired on the UNIFIL position, destroying two surveillance cameras and causing damage to the tower, the United Nations international mission described in a statement.
“Once again we see direct and apparently deliberate shots against a UNIFIL position”according to the statement, which reminds the IDF and all actors in the conflict in Lebanon of their obligation to “ensure the protection and security of UN personnel and assets and respect their inviolability.”
UNIFIL statement:
This morning, peacekeepers at a position near Kafer Kela observed an IDF Merkava tank firing at their guard tower. Two chambers were destroyed and the tower was damaged.
Once again we see direct and apparently deliberate fire against a UNIFIL position.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 16, 2024
The United Nations mission in Lebanon has already suffered several attacks by the Israeli Army, which left blue helmets injured, in addition to a tank raid on one of its bases.
Israeli authorities, for their part, maintain that UNIFIL serves as a “human shield” for the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah to defend itself from IDF attacks.
UNIFIL was created in 1978 by the UN Security Council and currently maintains around 10,000 international troops in southern Lebanon.
The most recent hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah began on October 8, 2023, one day after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, and for almost a year were limited to exchanges of fire along the border between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon.
However, at the end of September, Israel began a wide-ranging bombing campaign that focused on southern and eastern Lebanon, but also on the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold, where its leader was also killed. ,Hassan. as well as other senior officials of the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group.
According to the Lebanese Government, at least 2,350 people died last year, including 1,356 since September 23, and more than 1.2 million people were forced to leave their homes.
Source: Observadora
