U.S. President Joe Biden has called on Israel to immediately cease fire on United Nations peacekeepers following two incidents in which Israeli forces fired on UN personnel during ongoing hostilities with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Biden’s firm message comes in the wake of growing international concern over Israel’s military actions, particularly towards the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
On Friday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged responsibility for the latest incident, in which two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were injured near the UN base in Naqoura. Israeli troops, operating close to the UN site, opened fire after identifying a threat, IDF said, adding that the matter would be investigated at “highest levels.” Just a day earlier, two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower they were stationed in, causing me to fall.
International Outrage
incidents have triggered widespread international condemnation. France, Italy, and Spain issued a joint statement calling Israel’s actions “unjustifiable” and demanding an immediate halt to attacks on UN personnel. Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry also expressed strong condemnation of the attack on its soldiers.
UN’s head of peacekeeping operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, expressed concern that attacks on UN positions in southern Lebanon may have been deliberate. “We have a case where a tower was hit by fire, as well as damage to cameras at one of the positions. This very much looked like direct fire,” Lacroix said in an interview with BBC.
Continued Fighting Along Border
Despite international calls for de-escalation, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah continue to intensify. On Friday, IDF reported that approximately 100 rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel within 30 minutes, part of a nearly daily exchange of fire between the two sides since the outbreak of conflict. In response, Israeli airstrikes have targeted positions in southern Lebanon, including a raid on Sidon that left three people dead, including a young child.
Lebanese army confirmed that two of its soldiers were killed when Israeli forces targeted a military post in Kafra. In Beirut, emergency teams are still working through the wreckage of buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes earlier in the week, which killed 22 civilians and injured over 100 ors, according to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Ground Invasion and Hezbollah’s Retaliation
Israel’s ground invasion of southern Lebanon, launched last month in response to rocket attacks from Hezbollah, marks a significant escalation in the conflict. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, began firing rockets into northern Israel shortly after Hamas launched a deadly attack from Gaza in October of last year. Since then, both Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in frequent exchanges of fire, with casualties mounting on both sides.
Lebanon reports that over 2,000 people have been killed since the conflict’s escalation, with hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes. Hezbollah’s retaliatory rocket fire has also claimed lives in Israel, including two civilians and a foreign worker.
UN Peacekeepers Caught in Crossfire
Unifil, which has operated in southern Lebanon since 1978, has around 10,000 peacekeepers stationed in the region, monitoring the tense border between Lebanon and Israel. Despite calls from Israeli officials for Unifil to withdraw 5 kilometers northward for its safety, UN peacekeepers have remained in place. Israel argues that Unifil has failed to stabilize the region and should reposition to avoid further danger.
Escalating conflict puts se peacekeepers in an increasingly perilous situation. Lacroix reaffirmed that despite attacks, UN forces will continue its mission, even as the UN investigates circumstances surrounding recent incidents.
As violence shows no signs of abating, the international community remains on edge, with leaders like Biden urging restraint and a halt to actions that threaten peacekeepers and civilians alike.
