Two United Nations peacekeeping soldiers were injured after Israeli forces allegedly fired at three of their stations in Lebanon, sparking outrage from world leaders.
Members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were attacked by Israeli tank fire on Thursday at their headquarters in Naqoura, with two other positions hit “repeatedly,” the mission said in a statement.
Italy, which supplies more than 1,000 peacekeeping troops in Lebanon, condemned the alleged attacks, which came a day after UNIFIL officials warned of the proximity of Israel’s airstrikes to their troops aiding in the evacuation effort.
“The shooting at the UNIFIL headquarters and other incidents involving ‘small arms fire’ are intolerable,” Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement.
“They must be carefully and decisively avoided. Any possible error that could put the soldiers, both Italian and UNIFIL, at risk must be avoided,” he stressed.
The UNIFIL said the two soldiers injured on Thursday avoided serious injury but remained hospitalized.
The Israel Defense Forces has yet to respond to the allegations.
A Western diplomat familiar with the incident said the UN Security Council would likely issue its own condemnation soon, the Times of Israel reports.
The UNIFIL previously accused the IDF of attacking two of its stations in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, firing “deliberately” at one base in Ras Naqoura, where building facilities were damaged.
The UN forces also claimed that the Israeli military sent a drone inside a base in Labbouneh where peacekeeping forces were taking shelter amid the IDF and Hezbollah’s cross-border attacks.
The UN has also renewed scrutiny of Israel’s ongoing operations in Gaza to wipe out Hamas and free the remaining 97 hostages still in captivity.
With the war raging on for more than a year with no signs that Israel is close to accomplishing either goal, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry claimed the IDF has deliberately targeted health facilities and doctors in Gaza.
“Israel has perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a broader assault on Gaza,” the commission said, accusing the Jewish state of crimes against humanity.
Israel maintains that its airstrikes and raids at and near health facilities are targeted at Hamas, whose tactic remains hiding in densely populated civilian areas.
With Post wires
