Egypt Daily News – The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported the withdrawal of its soldiers from a monitoring post in Dhahiya after Israeli forces fired at the site earlier in the week.
The force is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the Blue Line border with Israel, an area that has recently experienced violent clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters, a group backed by Iran.
According to UNIFIL, the incident occurred when Israeli soldiers, noticing they were being observed while clearing nearby houses, fired upon the monitoring post, prompting UNIFIL soldiers to retreat to avoid potential injuries.
The Israeli army has reportedly been pressuring UNIFIL to vacate their positions and has caused damage to surveillance equipment at several sites.
In addition, a medical facility belonging to UNIFIL in Bait Leif was damaged by a shell or missile of unknown origin. Moreover, near the UNIFIL site in Kfar Shuba, two more projectiles struck, damaging accommodations for peacekeeping forces, although no injuries were reported among UNIFIL personnel.
Since the escalation of conflict following Israel’s ground incursion into Lebanon on October 1, five peacekeepers have sustained injuries, and UNIFIL positions have been attacked over 20 times, including a notable incident involving Israeli tanks breaching a base’s gates.
Despite these challenges and pressures, UNIFIL has stated that peacekeeping forces remain committed to their mission and will continue their operations.
