Israeli PM Netanyahu denies claims of targeting UNIFIL members; calls for their removal from areas of conflict
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied claims that Israeli soldiers intentionally attacked UNIFIL members as “completely false” and reiterated his call for their removal from areas of conflict as tensions rise.
He stated that the IDF did everything possible to prevent harming UNIFIL personnel when targeting Hezbollah sites. Israel continuously requested that UNIFIL move to a safer location. He continued by saying that it repeatedly requested them to temporarily evacuate the area of conflict, located adjacent to Israel’s border with Lebanon.
Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of using UNIFIL facilities and positions as a “shield” during their assaults on Israeli cities and communities. He stated that he asked UNIFIL members to leave the areas of conflict on the day Israel started its ground attacks in Lebanon to remove Hezbollah militants.
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“Israel is not fighting UNIFIL. It’s not fighting the citizens of Lebanon. It is fighting Hezbollah, a proxy of Iran, that utilizes Lebanese location to launch assaults on Israel. Without any reason or warning, Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel on October 8th last year, right after the Hamas attack, and has been continuously attacking Israel by firing over 10,000 rockets and missiles at the country,” he stated.
“We regret any harm done to UNIFIL personnel and the IDF is doing its utmost to prevent such incidents,” Netanyahu added.
Netanyahu had previously informed UN Secretary General António Guterres that UNIFIL members’ refusal to leave makes them makes them “hostages of Hezbollah”, putting both their lives and Israeli soldiers’ lives at risk.
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Five UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon, says United Nations
The UN reported that five UNIFIL members have been injured since Israel started its land invasions in Lebanon. The global organization stated that UNIFIL locations have faced 20 incidents since October 1, such as direct gunfire and an event on Sunday where two Israeli tanks forcefully entered a UNIFIL compound.
“Five peacekeepers have been injured during these incidents, including one peacekeeper who sustained a bullet wound. The source of that gunfire has yet to be confirmed by UNIFIL,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
“UN peacekeepers and U.N. premises must never be the target of an attack,” the UN Security Council said.
UNIFIL, comprised of approximately 9,500 soldiers from different countries, was established in response to Israel’s 1978 incursion into Lebanon. Currently, its role is to monitor a ceasefire that halted a 33-day conflict in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah.
Forty nations contributing to UNIFIL expressed strong condemnation of recent attacks on the peacekeepers.
