The UN peacekeeping mission caught in the crosshairs in southern Lebanon
by Anne ICLINKAS · France 24UN forces appear caught in the crosshairs amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura and nearby positions have been targeted in recent days. It is the first time Blue Helmets from the UN mission have been injured since the escalation on both sides of the Blue Line dividing Israel and Lebanon.
“This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon towards an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall. The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital,” declared UNIFIL in a statement on Thursday. The UN also indicated that IDF soldiers had fired on another UN position in Labbouneh, where Israeli troops are fighting Hezbollah.
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Israeli soldiers on Wednesday “deliberately fired at and disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras. They also deliberately fired on UNP 1-32A in Ras Naqoura, where regular Tripartite meetings were held before the conflict began, damaging lighting and a relay station,” continued UNIFIL in its statement.
“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law," the statement added.
France, which has nearly 700 Blue Helmets in the mission issued a statement expressing “its deep concern following the Israeli shots that hit the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)”, and “condemning any attack on UNIFIL's security”.
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Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) struck near the UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters on Friday morning, injuring two more peacekeepers, a day after they struck the same position.
"Earlier today (Friday), IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon identified an immediate threat against them. The soldiers responded with fire toward the threat. An initial examination indicates that during the incident, a hit was identified on a @UNIFIL post, located approximately 50 metres from the source of the threat, resulting in the injury of two UNIFIL personnel," wrote the IDF on X.
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France said on Friday it had summoned the Israeli ambassador after the UNIFIL’s headquarters were affected by explosions for the second time in the last 48 hours.
UNIFIL was established by the UN Security Council in March 1978 to restore peace along the border between Israel and Lebanon. Since the retreat of the Israeli army from the Lebanese territory in May 2000, it has organised meetings between high-ranking Israeli and Lebanese authorities to resolve numerous border disputes, especially after the war in July 2006.
“The south of Lebanon had witnessed one of the quietest periods in its recent history” between 2006 and October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah opened a “front of support” for Hamas after the October 7 attacks, said UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti, based in Naqoura.
The war between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Shiite movement was still one of low intensity until last month. Yet the conflict significantly escalated after Israel sabotaged Hezbollah’s communication devices on September 17 and 18, and began intensely bombing southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut shortly afterwards.
‘Limited ground incursions’
The war entered a new phase on September 30, when the Israeli army announced that it would begin conducting "limited ground incursions" into Lebanon to remove Hezbollah. Israel warned UNIFIL about its upcoming operation and asked it to withdraw from its posts, just as it warned the civilian populations of Gaza and Lebanon before it began bombing residential areas.
"The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) asked us to move from some of our positions near the Blue Line," said Tenenti. The line demarcated by blue barrels was drawn in June 2000. UNIFIL has 29 bases near the Blue Line and 2,000 peacekeepers.
The first Israeli soldiers entered southern Lebanon on October 1. They pushed towards the village of Maroun al-Ras, south-east of the area where UNIFIL’s Irish battalion was stationed. The Irish soldiers refused to evacuate their position, with Irish President Michael Higgins subsequently declaring it was “outrageous” that the Israeli defence forces had “threatened” the Irish peacekeeping force.
Hezbollah accused the Israeli army of using the international force as a "human shield". The pro-Iranian Shiite movement called on "its fighters to wait and refrain from reacting to [Israel’s] push [across the country’s southern border] border to protect the lives of UNIFIL soldiers".
Blue Helmets confined to their barracks
Tenenti acknowledged that the Israeli movements "endanger the security of our troops". Yet UNIFIL’s 50 contributing countries have decided to remain in the area, said the spokesperson several hours before the attack on Thursday.
A source within the UN institution said UNIFIL will likely adjust to the evolving situation on the ground but that it plans to stay, just as it chose not to withdraw during the last major conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
France, Italy, Spain and Ireland, UNIFIL's contributor countries from Europe, are holding a meeting next week.
For the UNIFIL spokesperson, "it's important for the international community to monitor and to have the UN flag still flying there".
He added: "We cannot have other countries dictating us what needs to be done. That's a decision of the United Nations. And we decided to stay. Although the monitoring capabilities are very challenging at the moment. We cannot let other countries dictate to us what should be done.”
The Blue Helmets are now confined to their barracks and have not carried out their usual joint patrols with the Lebanese army since September 30. Under-equipped, the latter has also withdrawn from many of its positions in southern Lebanon.
UNIFIL is prioritising the safety and security of its 10,500 personnel, including more than 9,500 soldiers. In the "relative" security of their bases, they still have surveillance capabilities. The mission is still able, from inside the bases, “to report to the Security Council on the situation on the ground”, such as the number of shots fired, because they also have radars, said Tenenti. "The force commander is still in touch with the parties [Israeli and Lebanese] to try to end the conflict and try to bring back some kind of stability in the south [of Lebanon].”
Violations of Resolution 1701
UNIFIL’s mandate is renewed annually, with the UN mission extended for one year on August 28 by the UN Security Council. The force is sometimes criticised for failing to accomplish its mission, namely the implementation of Resolution 1701.
The resolution was adopted unanimously by the Security Council in 2006 in exchange for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. It calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament and withdrawal to north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometres north of the Blue Line. Hezbollah rejected the demand, arguing that Israel continues to occupy an area of around twenty square kilometres.
"[Resolution] 1701 is still a very valid resolution, but it requires commitment from both sides," said Tenenti. "The resolution has not been implemented. We can assist in this, but it's their role," he added. In the meantime, UNIFIL is at the forefront of the clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. “Contingency plans are always there, but at the moment, we are staying,” concluded Tenenti.