A man visited U.N. headquarters as Security Council representatives postponed a vote for a day on a proposal that would require Israel and Hamas to allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip via land, sea and air routes and set up U.N. monitoring of the Strip. Humanitarian aid, December 20, 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA.
Eduardo Muñoz | Reuters
Three United Nations military observers and a Lebanese translator were patrolling Lebanon’s southern border on Saturday when a shell exploded nearby, injuring three people, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said.
The military observers are part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which supports UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenanti told The Associated Press that the four injured were in stable condition.
Tenanti said that UNIFIL has informed all warring parties that its patrols are continuing as usual and that observers’ vehicles also bear visible UN markings. He said the three military observers from Chile, Australia and Norway were unarmed.
The explosion comes as clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have escalated in recent weeks. Israel and Hamas have been trading fire since the war in Gaza broke out, raising concerns that near-daily clashes along the border could escalate into a full-scale war.
Local Lebanese media quoted security officials as saying that Israeli drones targeted observers in the southern village of Wadi Katmon, near the border town of Lemechi.
“Contrary to reports, the IDF did not attack @UNIFIL vehicles in the Lemesh area this morning,” the Israeli military said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Tenanti said UNIFIL was “investigating the cause of the explosion” but it was difficult to immediately send investigators to the scene as the exchange of fire continued.
“Attacks against peacekeepers are unacceptable,” Tenetti told The Associated Press. “We once again call on all parties to stop the current fierce exchanges to prevent more people from being needlessly harmed.”
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Naguib Miqat condemned the incident in a statement.
UNIFIL was established to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon following Israel’s 1978 invasion of Lebanon. After the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, the United Nations expanded its mission to allow peacekeepers to deploy along Israel’s borders to help the Lebanese army extend its authority into the south of the country for the first time in decades.
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