Peacekeeping operations are increasingly risky.
Two members of the UN peacekeeping mission operating along Lebanon’s border with Israel (UNIFIL) were wounded after an Israeli tank fired on one of the group’s observation towers on Thursday (October 10), UN officials said. UNIFIL came under another attack by Israeli forces on the same location in southern Lebanon on Thursday.
These are the most serious incidents involving UNIFIL since Israel warned the force to evacuate positions in Lebanon near where it said Hezbollah militants had fired rockets into northern Israel.
UNIFIL peacekeepers patrol between Ras Naqoura and Labounieh along the Green Line (Green Line) in southwestern Lebanon. Photo: UN
The United Nations has maintained a UNIFIL peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon since Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1978. Its mission is primarily an observational one, although it was expanded in 2006 following the most recent war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Over the past year, peacekeepers have increasingly been caught in the cross-border attacks as Israel's conflict with Hezbollah escalates.
A day after its ally Hamas launched attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in a show of support for Hamas, and Israel responded.
Last week, after intense airstrikes, Israeli troops landed in Lebanon to fight Hezbollah militants, making UNIFIL’s mission even more dangerous.
What is UNIFIL's mission?
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is an international force of more than 10,000 civilian and military personnel from 50 countries tasked with preventing violations along the 120-kilometer (75-mile) border between Lebanon and Israel, commonly known as the Green Line.
A 2006 UN resolution included language authorizing UNIFIL to “ensure that its area of operations is not used for any hostile activity.”
Some 10,000 UNIFIL peacekeepers are present in southern Lebanon to maintain stability on the Green Line (the border between Lebanon, Israel and the Golan Heights). Graphic image: FT
UNIFIL is tasked by the United Nations to keep weapons or fighters from entering the Green Line area. But over the past decade, the US and Israel have argued that the peacekeeping force has been largely ineffective.
However, UNIFIL said it had prevented violations in the border area and reported them to the UN Security Council. Although armed, peacekeepers are generally only allowed to use force when their safety or the safety of civilians is directly threatened.
UNIFIL also has a Maritime Task Force (MTF), the first of its kind in a UN peacekeeping mission. The MTF assists the Lebanese Navy in monitoring Lebanon's territorial waters and preventing the entry of illicit weapons and related materials into its area of operations.
UNIFIL also facilitates humanitarian access to assist local populations and protect civilians when the Lebanese Government is unable to do so. Peacekeepers also engage in supporting local communities through projects and donations in health care, education, infrastructure, etc.
What is happening with UNIFIL?
During its invasion of southern Lebanon last week, the Israeli military (IDF) established new positions near one of UNIFIL’s bases, according to UN officials. UNIFIL also warned on October 6 that it was “extremely concerned by recent IDF activities adjacent to the mission’s location” in the Western Area, inside Lebanon.
A UN spokesman said the Israeli military had fired on Hezbollah positions from those locations, putting the peacekeepers at risk. He said the Israeli military had asked the UN forces to leave, but UNIFIL had refused to do so.
While attacks on UN personnel violate international law, Hezbollah has also been firing rockets into northern Israel from near UN positions in southern Lebanon for a year, complicating the rules of engagement.
An Italian member of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on patrol. Photo: New York Times
On Thursday, UNIFIL said Israeli tanks hit an observation tower at its headquarters in Naqoura, Lebanon, and Israeli soldiers also hit the entrance to a bunker at a nearby base where peacekeepers were taking shelter.
“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” UNIFIL said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed that its troops were operating near UNIFIL positions on Thursday morning.
Many countries have strongly condemned Israel for its attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. On October 11, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed “indignation” over Israel’s attack on UNIFIL and called on Israel to refrain from any “hostile actions” against the force.
Earlier, on October 10, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto declared that Israeli forces had acted illegally when they opened fire on positions where UN peacekeeping forces were stationed in Lebanon, and condemned this as a possible war crime.
The French foreign ministry accused Israel of deliberately opening fire on peacekeepers and summoned the Israeli ambassador to the country on Friday (October 11) to formally protest. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “Peacekeepers must be protected by all parties to the conflict, and what happened is clearly reprehensible.”
Quang Anh
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