The peacekeeping force accused Israel of deliberately demolishing a UNIFIL tower and a fence labeling it as ‘a flagrant violation of international law and resolution 1701.’
The United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) accused Israel on Sunday of deliberately demolishing one of its observation towers and a perimeter fence in Marwahin, in Tyre, south of Lebanon.
“Earlier today, an IDF (Israeli army) bulldozer deliberately demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position in Marwahin,” a statement by UNIFIL read, as quoted by Anadolu news agency.
UNIFIL slammed Israel for violating a UN position and sabotaging its properties labeling the Israeli assault as “a flagrant violation of international law and Security Council resolution 1701,” the statement said.
UNIFIL statement:
Earlier today, an IDF bulldozer deliberately demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position in Marwahin.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 20, 2024
The UN organization reminded Israel of its obligation to “ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times,” the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported.
UNIFIL stated that such breaches endanger “the safety and security of our peacekeepers in violation of international humanitarian law,” NNA said.
The peacekeeping mission vowed in its statement to remain in its positions “to monitor and report” despite the pressure exerted by Israel to force it to leave its positions along the Blue Line and its repeated attacks against the UN peacekeepers.
UNIFIL Protection
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the latest Israeli attack on UNIFIL.
It demanded in a statement for the international community “to take a firm stand supporting the UNIFIL and guaranteeing the continuity of its work as well as its safety and security,” according to NNA.
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The Foreign Ministry also urged the international community “to condemn Israel and to immediately force it to halt its hostile acts against the international peacekeeping mission.”
“Following consultations with the House Speaker and the Prime Minister, the Foreign Ministry expresses its utter gratitude to the UNIFIL and deep appreciation of the role it has been assuming since its establishment in 1978,” the statement read.
Not a First
This is not the first attack the peacekeeping force in Lebanon has sustained by Israeli occupation forces.
On October 10, UNIFIL said that its headquarters in the southern Lebanese city of Naqoura and two nearby sites had been struck by Israeli forces.
On that same day, an Israeli Merkava tank fired on an observation tower, striking it directly and causing two peacekeepers to fall, sending them to hospital with minor injuries, UNIFIL said in a statement.
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On October 9, UNIFIL said, Israeli forces deliberately fired at and disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras.
The occupation forces also deliberately fired on UNP 1-32A, where regular Tripartite meetings were held before the conflict began, damaging lighting and a relay station, according to a UN News report.
Additionally, Israeli forces fired at UN position 1-31 in Ras Naqoura, hitting the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering and damaging vehicles and a communications system, the report added.
An Israeli military drone was also observed flying inside the UN position up to the bunker entrance.
“We remind the IDF and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times,” the UN mission said.
UN peacekeepers are present in south Lebanon to support a return to stability under a 2006 Security Council mandate. UNIFIL said any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Security Council resolution 1701.
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UNIFIL at Serious Risk
The attacks on UNIFIL have been widely condemned by world leaders labeling them as a violation of international law and Security Council resolution 1701.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, voiced at a UN Security Council session on Lebanon on October 10 the “serious risk” peacekeepers confront in Lebanon amid Israel’s war on the country, Anadolu news agency reported.
The UN official revealed during the session that the “safety and security” of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is “now increasingly in jeopardy” due to the Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
“Our peacekeepers have remained in position, in line with the mandate this Council has provided, while continuously reassessing the force’s posture against prevailing risks,” Lacroix said as quoted by Anadolu, stressing that “the safety and security of peacekeepers is now increasingly in jeopardy.”
The UN official told the Security Council session that due to the escalation of the conflict, UNIFIL’s “operational activities have virtually come to a halt since 23 September.”
War on Lebanon
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, on October 7, 2023, the Lebanese movement Hezbollah has engaged directly, but relatively in a limited way in the war against the Israeli occupation.
Israel escalated its aggression with the cyber-terror attacks on September 17 and 18, which claimed the lives of at least 37 people including children, and injured around 3000 others.
This went hand in hand with a series of assassinations of Hezbollah leaders, the last of which was that of the Secretary-General of the resistance party Hassan Nasrallah on September 27.
These developments coincided with unprecedented bombings and airstrikes by Israel’s army on different cities across Lebanon particularly in the south, Bekaa and the southern district of Beirut.
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The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on October 20 that 2464 Lebanese were killed and 11530 were injured since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon.
The Lebanese Government Emergency Committee announced on October 16 that the number of shelters has reached 1,059 centers, 876 of which stand at maximum capacity.
The Head of the committee, Minister of Environment Nasser Yassin revealed that around “50 thousand families have been displaced to approved shelters, noting that the total number of displaced people exceeds 1.2 million.”
According to the committee, 326,467 Syrians and 124,225 Lebanese crossed into Syrian territory from September 23 to October 14.
(PC, Anadolu)
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