5 Soldiers Injured By Attacks, UNIFIL Still Rejects Israel's Resignation Request

UNIFIL UN Troops In Lebanon/Un Photo

BEIRUT - The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon still refused to leave their position as requested by Israel.

Israel, which is launching ground and air attacks in Lebanon, has asked UNIFIL to step down from their positions. The zionist country's military even attacked with tanks towards the UNIFIL post which left two Indonesian National Army (TNI) injured on Thursday 10 October.

Israel asked us to step down from the position along the green line or back about 5 km away. However, all agreed to stay, "said Andrea Tenenti, spokesman for the United Nations Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Saturday.

This is not the first time Israel has asked UNIFIL to withdraw troops from the green line, the designation for the Israel-Lebanon border.

UNIFIL said on October 5, Israel had asked them to leave several positions in southern Lebanon. But UN peacekeeping forces did not respond.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon on October 10 also recommended that UNIFIL move its troops about 5 km to the north to avoid the danger of escalating fighting.

UNIFIL announced that a soldier was hit by a bullet due to military operations near his headquarters in Naqura on Friday (11/10/2024) night, and the victim was in stable condition.

It is unclear who opened fire, but these were the fifth UNIFIL soldiers injured in southern Lebanon in the past two days. UNIFIL said four soldiers had previously all been injured by Israeli soldiers' gunfire.

The Israeli military recently claimed responsibility for the two injured TNIs.

Tenenti said the recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon had caused a lot of damage to the UNIFIL base, making it difficult for the troops to operate.

An explosion occurred last night, just outside the position of Ghana's peacekeeping force. The explosion was so strong that it destroyed several containers inside, he said.

Incidents against UN peacekeeping forces affected by attacks in southern Lebanon have put Israel under great pressure from the international community. Several countries that sent troops to join UNIFIL, such as France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Indonesia strongly condemn Israel.

The US, Israel's closest ally, also called on the zionist nation to stop attacking UN peacekeepers.

UNIFIL was founded in 1978 to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops after invading Lebanon in retaliation for attacks by Palestinian armed groups.

UN Security Council Resolution Number 1701, which was passed in August 2006, commissioned UNIFIL and Lebanese troops to monitor a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel after nearly a month of war. UNIFIL has about 10,000 troops stationed in southern Lebanon.