Lebanon, Oct 13, (dpa/GNA) – Despite mounting pressure from Israeli allies to stop firing on UN peacekeeping troops, Israeli tanks forcibly entered a United Nations peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon.
“Two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position’s main gate, and forcibly entered the position. They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights,” the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.
It added that the tanks left about 45 minutes later after UNIFIL, protested through its liaison mechanism. The UN peacekeeping forces said Israeli military’s presence was putting peacekeepers in danger.
About two hours later, another incident occurred at the same location, UNIFIL said. Shots were fired and smoke was seen rising, after which 15 peacekeepers suffered skin irritations and gastrointestinal problems, the UN forces said.
The Israeli military also stopped an important “Unifil logistics movement” near the Lebanese border town of Mais al-Jabal on Saturday and denied its passage, the same statement said. The Israeli army has so far made no comment on the incidents.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on Sunday, that UN peacekeeping troops must “immediately” withdraw from the combat zone in southern Lebanon.
Five members of the multinational peacekeeping force have been injured there this week, amid the heavy fighting.
Netanyahu addressed his appeal directly to UN Secretary General António Guterres, during a Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, saying the UNIFIL force must exit so that Israeli ground troops can take on the armed militant group Hezbollah.
Israeli soldiers began ground raids into Lebanon two weeks ago, as the air force hits targets across southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut.
“The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones,” Netanyahu said in a Hebrew-language message.
He accused Guterres of refusing to do so and thus making the UNIFIL soldiers “human shields” and “hostages of Hezbollah.”
Netanyahu said he “regrets” that UNIFIL soldiers have been injured after Israeli soldiers fired on their positions while going after the militants.
UNIFIL’s task with more than 10,000 soldiers, has been to monitor compliance with a ceasefire, following the 2006 Lebanon war. They have stayed on the sidelines during the current fighting.
The United States and European countries have demanded that Israeli forces stop firing at the peacekeepers. On Friday, US President Joe Biden said he was “absolutely, positively” telling Israel to stop.
The Lebanese army said that three of its soldiers were also wounded in Israeli fire, while attempting to open closed roads in southern Lebanon.
The army said Israeli forces “targeted” two military vehicles in the town of Burj al-Muluk.
It added that the vehicles were transporting a bulldozer with the aim of opening roads damaged “as a result of hostile bombing.”
The Israeli army meanwhile told the residents of more towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate. It said they should flee north of the Awali river, which is about 60 kilometres from the border with Israel.
GNA