Fifth peacekeeper wounded in southern Lebanon, UN says

A UN peacekeeper has been wounded in southern Lebanon after being hit by gunfire, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) has said, the fifth member of the multinational force to be injured in recent days.

In a statement on Saturday, Unifil said the peacekeeper was injured at its headquarters in the southern city of Naquora on Friday night amid “ongoing military activity nearby”, though added that it did not know the origin of the fire.

“He underwent surgery at our Naqoura hospital to remove the bullet and is currently stable,” it said.

On Friday US President Joe Biden has said he was “absolutely, positively” urging Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers in Lebanon following two earlier incidents on Thursday and Friday.

Israeli troops have launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon as part of its escalation against the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, with which it has been trading cross-border fire on a near daily basis for the past year.

Israeli forces have urged UN peacekeepers to leave their positions. A spokesperson for Unifil said on Saturday that there had been a “unanimous decision” to stay in the border region.

Separately, Unifil said buildings at a position in the village of Ramyah sustained “significant damage due to explosions from nearby shelling” on Friday night.

“We remind all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and premises, including avoiding combat activities near Unifil positions,” the mission said.

On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged that its troops were responsible for an incident in which two Sri Lankan soldiers, also in Naqoura, were injured.

The IDF said soldiers operating near the base opened fire after identifying a threat and that the incident would be investigated “at the highest levels”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemned” the attack.

On Thursday, two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured falling from an observation tower after Israeli tanks fired towards it.

Lt Gen Seán Clancy, chief of staff of the Irish Defence Forces, has said he does not believe the strike on Thursday was accidental. Some 340 Irish troops are currently operating in Lebanon with Unifil.

“An observer tower with a round from a tank directly into it, which is a very small target, has to be very deliberate,” he told Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

“So from a military perspective, this is not an accidental act. It’s a direct act.

“Whether its indiscipline or directed, either way it is not conscionable or allowable.”

The leaders of France, Italy, and Spain have also condemned Israel’s actions, saying in a joint statement that they were unjustifiable and should immediately end.

On Saturday Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on villages to the north and south of the capital Beirut had killed nine people.

The IDF also told residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages to evacuate to areas north of the Awali river.

Hezbollah continued to fire into Israel, with the IDF saying that about 320 projectiles had been identified and a number of them intercepted.

On Saturday, the IDF announced that the areas around the northern towns of Zar’it, Shomera, Shtula, Netu’a, and Eben Menachem would be closed to civilians from 20:00 local time (18:00 BST).

About 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries are stationed in Lebanon, alongside around 800 civilian staff.

Since 1978, they have patrolled the area between the Litani River and the UN-recognised boundary between Lebanon and Israel, known as the “Blue Line”.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on 8 October last year, the day after Hamas’s deadly attack on southern Israel. The Iran-backed group says it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinians and has said it will stop firing if there is a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Over the past three weeks, Israel has dramatically escalated its campaign against Hezbollah, intensifying air strikes against southern Lebanon and southern parts of Beirut, assassinating Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and launching a ground invasion.

Lebanon says more than 2,000 people have been killed, mainly in the recent escalation, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. This week Hezbollah rocket fire has killed two Israeli civilians and a Thai national, Israeli authorities say.