Five UNIFIL Soldiers Injured, Security Council Affirms UN Peace Forces Should Not Be Attacked

UNIFIL troops patrol along the Blue Line. (Wikimedia Commons/Italian Army)

JAKARTA - The United Nations Security Council on Monday expressed concern, after several UN peacekeeper positions in southern Lebanon were attacked amid clashes between the Israeli military and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

In a statement adopted through consensus, the 15-member council also urged all parties to respect the safety and security of UN peacekeeping personnel and missions, known as UNIFIL.

"BP peacekeeping forces and UN venues should not be targeted for attacks," the council said, reaffirming its support for UNIFIL and the importance of the operation for regional stability.

The Security Council also called for a full implementation of resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 with the aim of maintaining peace on the border between Lebanon and Israel.

The council "recognized the need for further practical steps to achieve these results," but did not provide details.

Since the start of Israel's ground operations in Lebanon on October 1, UNIFIL's position has been affected 20 times, including by live fire and an incident on Sunday, when two Israeli tanks broke into the UNIFIL base, the United Nations said.

"Five peacekeepers have been injured in the incidents, including one peacekeeper who suffered gunshot wounds," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Monday.

"The source of the shot has not been confirmed by UNIFIL," he continued.

Over the past two weeks, Israel has told UN peacekeeping forces to withdraw 5 km (3 miles) from the so-called Blue Line - a UN mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - for their own safety.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday, "Time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL."

Separately, UN Peacekeeping Operations Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told Gari Monday that UN forces would not move. After giving a briefing to the Security Council behind closed doors, he told reporters he would meet with Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon on Tuesday.

Lacroix added the UN was "continue to review the situation, and we have contingency plans for all scenarios."