Israel-Lebanon Conflict Escalates as UN Peacekeepers Come Under Fire

The escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has reached a new level of danger as Israeli forces have directly targeted UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon, prompting widespread condemnation, The Associated Press reports.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) issued a statement condemning the Israeli attacks, stating that its headquarters and positions have been repeatedly struck. The statement detailed an incident where an Israeli tank directly fired on an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, and soldiers attacked a bunker near where peacekeepers were sheltering, causing damage to vehicles and communication systems.

The Israeli military acknowledged the attack on the UN base, but claimed they had ordered the peacekeepers to remain in protected spaces. Despite this, the UN peacekeeping chief, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, informed the UN Security Council that 300 peacekeepers in frontline positions have been temporarily relocated to larger bases, and another 200 are expected to follow, depending on security conditions.

The UNIFIL mission, composed of over 10,000 peacekeepers from various countries, was established to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion. Its mandate was expanded following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to patrol a buffer zone along the border.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of violating the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war by establishing militant infrastructure along the border. However, the attack on UN peacekeepers has been widely condemned, with Italy, France, Spain, and Jordan voicing their outrage. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto went as far as to claim that the Israeli strikes on the UNIFIL base “could constitute war crimes.”

The escalating conflict extends beyond Lebanon, as Israel continues to target Palestinian militant positions in the Gaza Strip. On Thursday, an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in central Gaza killed at least 27 people, including a child and seven women, according to Palestinian medical officials.

The Israeli military claimed they targeted a militant center within the school, but witnesses reported that the strike hit a meeting of aid workers. This incident adds to a growing list of attacks on schools in Gaza that have been used as shelters, raising serious concerns about the safety of civilians.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza, launched following the October 7 attacks, has resulted in the deaths of over 42,000 Palestinians and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people.