Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to curtail Israel’s incursion into Lebanon despite the impacts on UN peacekeepers.Pamela Smith/AP
Dozens of countries are condemning Israel’s attacks on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Israeli forces reportedly struck the UN mission in Lebanon—known as UNIFIL—in recent days, injuring multiple peacekeepers, according to the mission. As UNIFIL points out, deliberate attacks on peacekeepers violate international law.
A joint statement by 34 UNIFIL-contributing countries, initiated by 🇵🇱, urges to protect @UNIFIL_ peacekeepers.
We condemn recent incidents, call to respect UNIFIL’s mission & ensure the safety of its personnel.
🇦🇲🇦🇹🇧🇩🇧🇷🇰🇭🇨🇳🇨🇾🇸🇻🇪🇪🇫🇯🇫🇮🇫🇷🇬🇭🇬🇹🇭🇺🇮🇩🇮🇪🇮🇹🇰🇿🇰🇷🇱🇻🇲🇾🇲🇹🇲🇳🇳🇵🇳🇱🇵🇱🇶🇦🇸🇱🇪🇸🇱🇰🇹🇿🇹🇷🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/66q46Pu1RR— Poland in the UN (@PLinUN) October 12, 2024
Human rights groups including Human Rights Watch have condemned the reported attacks and called for UN investigations. In a statement posted on X on Saturday by the Polish Mission to the United Nations, a joint group of signatories said that they “condemn recent incidents, call to respect [the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s] mission & ensure the safety of its personnel.”
Netanyahu’s unwillingness to call for a full-scale stop of IDF interactions with UNIFIL has drawn scorn. The prime minister of Ireland—one of the signatories of the letter which the BBC reports has more than 370 troops in Lebanon as part of the peacekeeping mission—said during a visit to Washington, DC this week that the attacks were an “extraordinarily concerning development.” Spain, France, and Italy have also condemned the attacks in a joint statement, calling them “unjustifiable.” And President Biden on Friday said Israel should “absolutely” stop striking the UN peacekeepers.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the country “condemns Netanyahu’s position and the Israeli aggression against UNIFIL, renews its commitment to international legitimacy.”
The Israeli Defense Forces have claimed that Hezbollah “operates from within and near civilian areas in southern Lebanon, including areas near UNIFIL posts.” On Friday, the IDF acknowledged that two UNIFIL personnel were reportedly injured in a strike on a post near an unnamed “threat,” adding that the Israeli military had instructed UNIFIL personnel to shelter in protected spaces while the attack was unfolding. The IDF also said that on Yom Kippur, which fell on Saturday and marks the holiest day of the Jewish year, Hezbollah fired more than 300 projectiles “towards Israeli civilians.”
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF regrets the harm done to UNIFIL personnel but said they should withdraw from the area, alleging that Hezbollah was endangering them by being stationed nearby. A spokesperson for UNIFIL told AFP Saturday that the peacekeepers will not withdraw: “There was a unanimous decision to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the Security Council,” Andrea Tenenti told the French news agency.
