A man visits the United Nations headquarters while Security Council delegates postponed voting for an additional day on a proposal demanding that Israel and Hamas allow aid to reach the Gaza Strip via land, sea and air routes and establish United Nations monitoring of the Strip. Humanitarian aid, at United Nations headquarters in New York, United States, December 20, 2023
Eduardo Munoz | Reuters
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said that three United Nations military observers and a Lebanese translator were injured on Saturday while patrolling the southern Lebanese border after a shell exploded near them.
The military observers are part of the UN Truce Supervision Organization, which supports the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL. UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told the Associated Press that the four wounded were in stable condition.
Tenenti said UNIFIL informed all warring parties of its patrols as usual and the observer vehicle had clear UN markings. He added that the three military observers, who were from Chile, Australia and Norway, were not armed.
The explosion came as clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah militants escalated in recent weeks. The two sides have been exchanging fire since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, raising fears that the almost daily clashes along the border could escalate into a full-scale war.
Local Lebanese media, citing security officials, said that an Israeli drone strike targeted observers in the southern village of Wadi Qatmoun, near the border town of Rmeish.
“Contrary to reports, the IDF did not strike a UNIFIL vehicle in the Rmeish area this morning,” the IDF said on social media platform X, Twitter previously.
Tenenti said UNIFIL was “investigating the origin of the explosion,” but it was difficult to put investigators on the ground immediately due to the ongoing exchange of fire.
“Targeting peacekeepers is unacceptable,” Tenente told the Associated Press. “We reiterate our call on all parties to stop the current violent exchange of fire before more people are needlessly harmed.”
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqat condemned the incident in a statement.
UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon after the 1978 Israeli invasion. The United Nations expanded its mission in the wake of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border to help the Lebanese army extend its authority in southern Lebanon. country for the first time in decades.
