Two Lebanese soldiers were killed and two UN peacekeepers injured in apparent Israeli strikes on Friday, as the conflict between between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia intensifies.
The Lebanese army said Israeli forces had attacked one of its outposts in the village of Kafra in southern Lebanon, killing two soldiers and injuring three others.
Najib Mikati, the caretaker prime minister of Lebanon, condemned the alleged Israeli attack, calling it a “crime against Lebanon” that the international community must take a stand against.
The Israeli military has yet to comment.
The weak Lebanese military is not a declared enemy of Israel, and Lebanese state forces are seen as powerless against the massive influence wielded by Hezbollah in the south of the country.
Earlier, the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon said that its Naqoura headquarters were hit once again by explosions, wounding two more members of the force.
This was the second attack on the facilities of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in 48 hours. On Thursday, two soldiers were injured after an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower.
UNIFIL did not specify the cause of the two blasts near another observation post in Naqoura on Friday. The force said one of the two injured peacekeepers was taken to hospital in nearby Tyre.
But the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed its troops had opened fire, saying they were responding to “an immediate threat against them.”
The IDF said an initial investigation found that the UNIFIL post was struck as the soldiers tried to hit a target 50 metres away from the peacekeepers.
The explosions came as several protective walls also collapsed at a UN post near Labbouneh, not far from the Lebanese-Israeli border, after an Israeli military bulldozer hit them and Israeli tanks approached the post.
UNIFIL slammed these acts as a “grave violation” of international humanitarian law and UN Resolution 1701, which was passed by the Security Council in 2006 and is aimed at ending the hostilities between Israel and the Iranian-aligned Hezbollah militant group.
Germany and France were among the countries demanding an end to the attacks threatening peacekeepers.
The UN mission monitors the border area between Lebanon and Israel. More than 10,000 UN soldiers from more than 50 countries are involved. Many of the UN troops come from Indonesia, Italy and India.
Israeli troops had fired on the UNIFIL headquarters on Thursday, injuring two soldiers. Israel’s army acknowledged responsibility but said that Hezbollah is operating near the UNIFIL positions.
Hezbollah has been launching missiles at Israel from Lebanon since the start of the Gaza war a year ago. According to the militia, it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel significantly stepped up its military operations against Hezbollah in September, when pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group’s members exploded across Lebanon and Syria. Israeli troops launched a ground offensive in early October and intensified airstrikes, including on Beirut.
Nearly two dozen people died in Israeli strikes in central Beirut on Thursday.
Lebanese premier calls on UN for resolution
Lebanese leader Mikati urged the United Nations to pass a resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We asked the Foreign Ministry to submit a request to the Security Council calling on it to take a decision for a complete and immediate ceasefire with the implementation of Resolution 1701,” the premier said after a Cabinet meeting.
The resolution prohibits the presence of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in the border area with Israel.
The Israeli military must therefore withdraw behind the Blue Line – the Lebanese-Israeli border. The resolution gives sole authority to the Lebanese army and UNIFIL troops in Lebanon south of the Litani River.
He stressed that a ceasefire is necessary and the Lebanese army must prove its role in enhancing security on the southern border.
He also said Israel must cease its attacks on the civilian population and residential areas.
Mikati added that “what is happening is completely unacceptable.”
“Lebanon is a victim of Israeli arrogance that is not deterred and violates our sovereignty before the eyes of the world, strengthened by the suspicious silence about its massacres,” he said.
UN: Lebanese people ‘bearing the brunt’ of fighting
More than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 2023 as a result of the escalation in violence between Hezbollah and Israel, the UN Human Rights Office said, citing the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Among them were 100 emergency paramedics and other health workers.
“There are recurring reports of essential civilian infrastructure having been struck, including hospitals, clinics, ambulances and schools – along with destruction of housing,” said UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.
“The Lebanese people are bearing the brunt of this latest phase of conflict. The Ministry of Public Health says almost 400 children and women are among over 2,000 people killed since October 2023,” Shamdasani said.