Reportage
Israel is shooting at UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, UNIFIL soldiers say
‘Israel's attack on the UNIFIL mission is aimed at forcing it to withdraw in order not to have inconvenient witnesses, in view of the future plans of Tel Aviv’s army in Lebanon.’
We had talked about this just a few hours earlier at the UNIFIL office that overlooks Beirut, facing the sea. “The situation is unpredictable, and the risk of the blue helmets being affected by the firefights along the Blue Line is real,” explained Andrea Tenenti, spokesman and head of communications for the U.N. mission that has been running the interposition forces between Israel and Lebanon since 2000. A few hours later, it happened.
A Merkava tank of the Israeli Army fired at an observation tower at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, “directly hitting it” and throwing the two Indonesian blue helmets who were on lookout duty to the ground. UNIFIL’s statement leaves no doubt: the rounds were fired at that target. There was no targeting error, no accident: it was an intentional attack.
The injuries of the two soldiers from Indonesia are “fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital.” Israeli soldiers also opened fire on the Ras Naqoura base, where the Italian soldiers are stationed, codenamed UNP 1-31. They hit the bunker entrance and damaged vehicles and a communication system. Soon after, as the soldiers were heading toward the shelters, an Israeli drone was spotted inside the base conducting reconnaissance and following the peacekeepers as they went into the shelter. The alert level was raised to the highest level and the blue helmets remained in the bunkers for several hours.
One of the Italian soldiers recounted his experience to ANSA without revealing his name for security reasons: “I was below the tower. There was a first shot that grazed it. And then the one that hit the observation post full-on. There’s no way it was an error. The tank deliberately aimed at us.”
However, not only was this not an isolated incident – as Tenenti explained to us, some of the UNIFIL posts (e.g., the Irish one) had already been targeted – but we learned that the day before, Israeli soldiers had “deliberately” fired on the outer perimeter of the base, disabling the surveillance cameras. A short distance away, at the base designated UNP 1-32A, an Israeli unit opened fire on Wednesday, damaging lights and a communication station. Both bases have a significant presence of Italian military personnel (the Sassari brigade), but no Italian soldiers were injured according to the Defense Ministry. Some informed sources on the Middle East crisis are claiming that “Israel's attack on the UNIFIL mission is aimed at forcing it to withdraw in order not to have inconvenient witnesses, in view of the future plans of Tel Aviv’s army in Lebanon.”
“We remind the IDF and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times. UNIFIL peacekeepers are present in south Lebanon to support a return to stability under Security Council mandate. Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and of Security Council resolution 1701,” Tenenti wrote in a UNIFIL press release at the end of a long day.
Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon would not comment on the incident but said that “our recommendation is that UNIFIL relocate 5 km (3 miles) north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies and while the situation along the Blue Line remains volatile as a result of Hezbollah's aggression.” His next sentence sounded much like a threat, including to the UN troops: “Israel has no desire to be in Lebanon, but it will do what is necessary to force Hezbollah away from its northern border so 70,000 residents can return to their homes” in northern Israel.
This time, international reactions were more forceful. Spain “strongly condemned” the attack on the Naqoura base, stressing that “attacks on peacekeeping operations are a very serious violation of international humanitarian law.” Dublin said “any firing in the vicinity of UNIFIL troops or facilities is reckless and must stop.” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the attack was an “inadmissible act, for which there is no justification.” Italy, France and the UN all demanded that the Israeli authorities “explain themselves.”
On Oct. 11, in a second attack in as many days, Israel hit another watchtower at the same Naqoura base, this time wounding two Sri Lankan UN troops.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/unifil-nessun-dubbio-il-carro-armato-ha-puntato-su-di-noi on 2024-10-11