Early on a recent Sunday, soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) trespassed the Blue Line entering Lebanese territory, reported Unifil. In the process, they forcefuly intruded a United Nations (UN) base. During an incident at Ramyah’s UN outpost, several Unifil personnel experienced smoke-injury.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, on the same Sunday implored the United Nations to extricate their peacekeeping troops from aggressive territories in Lebanon. Netanyahu affirmed Israel’s military’s repeated request for the evacuation of these soldiers, stating that allowing them to remain made them susceptible to Hizbullah capture.
According to Unifil, amid ongoing combat in the southern region of Lebanon, five peacekeepers have so far been harmed. The most recent casualty was a peacekeeper hit by gunfire near Naqoura’s Unifil base on Friday. After an operation to extract the bullet at Naqoura hospital, a statement from Unifil declared him stable.
Unifil also revealed that two IDF Merkava tanks destructed the primary gateway of Ramyah’s UN base early on Sunday. UN peacekeepers witnessed three IDF platoons crossing the Blue Line into Lebanon from their position at the base.
Upon illegally entering the UN base in Ramyah just past 4 in the morning, the tanks made repeated demands for the base to darken its lights. The IDF retreated 45 minutes after Unifil’s objections.
Subsequently around 6:40am, Unifil peacekeepers at the same post reported multiple firing rounds releasing smoke a hundred meters to the north. Despite them donning protective gear, about 15 peacekeepers suffered from skin discomfort and intestinal distress after being exposed to the smoke and are currently receiving medical attention.
Unifil additionally noted that IDF personnel obstructed a vital Unifil logistics movement close to Meiss ej Jebel on the preceding Saturday.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Unifil reiterated its call to the IDF and all players to acknowledge their duties in preserving the safety of UN staff and resources, along with the sanctity of UN locations at all times. This marks the fourth such reminder in consecutive days. Unifil underscored that the breaking into a UN post constitutes a discernible breach of international law and Security Council Resolution 1701 passed in 2006. They added that any purposeful assault on peacekeepers is in severe contravention of international humanitarian law and likewise violates the Resolution. Unifil’s mission provides for free movement in its operational zone, and any curtailment of this freedom is an infringement of Resolution 1701. Unifil has sought clarifications from the IDF on these alarming contraventions.
The Defence Forces confirmed on Sunday afternoon that all Irish peacekeepers were safe and accounted for. The situation surrounding Irish posts in south Lebanon is reported to be comparatively still. The Defence Forces statement indicated that the stable environment had enabled a successful restocking of food and water supplies at UNP 2-45. Despite the ongoing clashes between conflicting parties in both Irish and the broader Unfil operational zones, Irish peacekeepers maintain their vigilance and report any violations of UNSCR 1701 by all parties, maintaining a neutral stance.
The commander of the Irish Unifil soldiers in South Lebanon stated that his troops are committed to staying and completing their mission. Complementing their professionalism and resiliency through challenging times, Lt Col Tom Fox, commander of the Irish battalion at Camp Shamrock in Debel, South Lebanon, conveyed that the troops are well-prepared and their focus is in planning future operations. He mentioned that they have recently been stocking food and water supplies to ensure their readiness to sustain operations for an extended period. Lt Col Fox voiced on RTE radio’s This Week programme on Sunday that the need for Unifil in the region was greater than ever. He labelled Unifil as the world’s “eyes and ears” there.
“We will persist because we serve as the global community’s eyes and ears, reporting real-time events unfolding in southern Lebanon,” they declared. The presence of a contingency strategy was confirmed should the mission prove unworkable. “Despite this, Unifil remains wholly dedicated and completely intent on maintaining all UN positions to actualise the mandate assigned to us.”
Unifil hadn’t been successful in replenishing the position where Irish soldiers had been stationed in a bunker, they carried on, nonetheless, plans for this were already set up. “Arrangements are underway to clear a path and restock the post with provisions and staff at the earliest convenience and when the security environment is stable. This is a process our personnel are quite familiar with; we have prior knowledge in this domain,” it was stated. This report includes inputs from additional correspondents.