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The United Nations on Sunday brought Israel to international law after Israeli tanks penetrated peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered international forces to withdraw from the fighting zone. accused of “serious violations”.
The Israeli prime minister’s request comes as the Israeli military shells Lebanon and intensifies its offensive in the northern Gaza Strip, while a Hezbollah drone attack kills and seriously injures four Israeli soldiers in northern Israel’s Binyamina region. It took place while the fighting was still going on. and seven others, according to the Associated Press. According to earlier reports, more than 60 people were injured in the attack on a military base near the town of Binyamina.
Last week, Israel faced widespread international criticism after Israeli artillery wounded several soldiers from UNIFIL, a UN command unit deployed along the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon during the invasion of southern Lebanon. has been done. According to the Lebanese army, two Lebanese soldiers were also killed in the Israeli airstrike.
United Nations peacekeeping forces said Israeli Defense Force tanks “destroyed” the main gate of the camp early Sunday in Lamiya, where fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified. Unifil said Israeli forces had “forcibly entered the position” and demanded “the lights out of the base.” They left after 45 minutes.
About two hours later, UNIFIL fired “several shots” 100 meters from the base, spewing smoke, and announced that 15 peacekeepers needed treatment for “dermatitis and gastrointestinal reactions.” It also said that Israel Defense Forces forces intercepted UNIFIL soldiers completing a logistics move in another area on Saturday.
The IDF admitted that one of its tanks retreated “several meters” into the Unifil garrison. However, the tank announced that it was trying to evacuate wounded soldiers while coming under fire. The Israel Defense Forces added that the tanks departed from the Unifil garrison after a smoke screen was created to provide cover and the soldiers were evacuated.
Before the report appeared on Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told Netanyahu that Israel’s attack on Unifil was “unacceptable.” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also expressed “deep concern” in a phone call with Israeli Defense Secretary Job Gallant on Saturday.
But Netanyahu hit back at the criticism in a video released on Sunday, saying Unifil should withdraw from areas where fighting is taking place. “We regret any damage caused to UNIFIL soldiers and are doing everything in our power to prevent such damage. However, the easiest and most obvious way to ensure this is to simply remove the danger zone. “to get them out of the country,” he said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati rejected Netanyahu’s request, saying Lebanon remained true to the 2006 United Nations resolution mandating the presence of Unifil. He called on the international community to “stop Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.”
Unifil’s mission is to maintain peace and help the Lebanese government and military increase its presence in border areas long controlled by Hezbollah. However, both Israel and Lebanon complain that this obligation is not being properly fulfilled.
Fighting continued in the hills of southern Lebanon on Sunday, with Hezbollah reporting clashes with Israeli forces. The Israeli military said Lebanese groups fired rockets and drones at Israel, and Israeli jets and artillery shelled targets in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s emergency medical services announced Sunday night that 61 people were injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on Binyamina, three in “serious” condition and 18 in “moderate” condition. The Israel Defense Forces said it was still gathering information about the explosion, but the Associated Press reported late Sunday, citing the military, that four soldiers were killed and seven others were seriously injured. Hezbollah said it had attacked a “military training base” in the region with a “swarm of drones.”
Lebanese health officials said on Saturday that 51 people were killed and 174 injured in Israeli airstrikes that included areas said to be outside the Shiite militants’ traditional support bases.
Lebanese health authorities said Israeli bombing also damaged three hospitals in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Red Cross said four of its rescue volunteers were injured in the attack while attending a blast site in southern Lebanon.
On Saturday night, Israeli warplanes attacked Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media likened the attack to a “hurricane” and said Israeli forces appeared to have targeted the commercial center of one of southern Lebanon’s largest cities.
A fire broke out in the remains of the old market district of Nabatiers, leaving surrounding roads caked in dark gray dust as rescue workers made their way through the rubble, footage showed. Lebanese health authorities said eight people were injured.
The Israeli military had warned people to leave the town about 10 days ago. On Sunday, it warned people to evacuate from 18 more southern Lebanese communities. The United Nations estimates that these orders currently cover an area equivalent to a quarter of Lebanese territory.
Israeli forces also expanded their offensive in northern Gaza, after surrounding and shelling Jabalia, which was home to a densely populated refugee camp before the war.
The camp has been the scene of several fierce battles between Israeli forces and Hamas as the militant group attempts to regroup in the area. In recent days, the IDF has ordered thousands of civilians to move south to a crowded “humanitarian zone” in al-Mawashi.
Health officials in the Gaza Strip have announced that 52 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours. The IDF said it had killed “dozens” of Hamas fighters during the same period.
Additional reporting by Amy Kazmin in Rome and Steph Chavez in Washington
