The UN says its peacekeepers will stay in their positions in southern Lebanon, despite repeated demands by Israel that they should move out of the way of its forces there
The head of UN peacekeeping operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told journalists in New York that the decision to keep the Unifil force in place had the full backing of both the UN Security Council and the member states contributing troops to the force.
On Sunday Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly warned the UN to move from its bases in southern Lebanon, which he said were providing a human shield to Hezbollah fighters.
But the UN is standing firm.
Its head of peacekeeping said it was essential that the blue helmets stay in place, to carry out the mandate they were given by the UN Security Council and to assist the civilian population.
Israel argues that the UN has failed to stop Hezbollah from building tunnels and positioning weapons like rockets and missiles near the border, in violation of the agreement which ended the last war there 18 years ago.
The UN says its mission is to support the parties to the conflict, not to enforce the agreement.
It has accused Israel of deliberately targeting its bases, with five peacekeepers injured in the past week, an accusation rejected by Netanyahu.
In another statement last night he said Israel would do its utmost to prevent such incidents, but that UN peacekeepers needed to get out of harm’s way.
As the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel continues, Lebanon says at least 21 people have been killed and eight others injured in a rare Israeli strike in the north of the country
The strike hit a residential building in Aitou, a mainly Christian village far from the areas where Israel has carried out strikes targeting Hezbollah. Israel says they are examining the incident
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that Israel’s PM told the Biden administration he was willing to opt for a more limited counterstrike in response to this month’s missile attack by Iran
In Gaza, the UN has condemned the “large number of civilian casualties” caused by Israeli strikes on the north of the enclave in recent days.
RadioNigeria / Omowunmi Adewuyi
