Two Lebanese soldiers were killed and two UN peacekeepers were injured on Friday in apparent Israeli attacks, as the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia intensifies.
The Lebanese army said Israeli forces attacked one of its outposts in the village of Kafra in southern Lebanon, killing two soldiers and wounding three others.
Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s interim prime minister, condemned the alleged Israeli attack, calling it a “crime against Lebanon” that the international community must take a stand against.
The Israeli military has not yet commented.
The weak Lebanese army is not a declared enemy of Israel, and Lebanese state forces are seen as powerless against Hezbollah’s vast influence in the south of the country.
Earlier, the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon said Naqoura’s headquarters were again hit by explosions, wounding two more members of the force.
This was the second attack on the facilities of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in 48 hours. On Thursday, two soldiers were injured after an Israeli tank shot at a watchtower.
UNIFIL did not specify the cause of the two explosions at another observation post in Naqoura on Friday. The force said one of the two injured peacekeepers was taken to hospital in nearby Tyre.
But the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that its forces had opened fire, saying they were responding to “an imminent threat against them.”
The IDF said an initial investigation showed that the UNIFIL post was hit when the soldiers tried to hit a target 50 meters away from the peacekeepers.
The explosions came as several protective walls also collapsed at a UN post near Labbouneh, not far from the Lebanese-Israeli border, after an Israeli military bulldozer hit them and Israeli tanks approached the post.
UNIFIL labeled these acts as a “serious violation” of international humanitarian law and UN Resolution 1701, which was adopted by the Security Council in 2006 and aims to end hostilities between Israel and the Iran-linked militant group Hezbollah.
Germany and France were among the countries demanding an end to attacks threatening peacekeepers.
The UN mission monitors the border area between Lebanon and Israel. More than 10,000 UN soldiers from more than 50 countries are involved. Many of the UN troops come from Indonesia, Italy and India.
Israeli forces fired on UNIFIL headquarters on Thursday, wounding two soldiers. The Israeli military acknowledged responsibility but said Hezbollah was operating near UNIFIL positions.
Hezbollah has been launching rockets from Lebanon at Israel since the start of the Gaza war a year ago. According to the militia, it acts in solidarity with the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel significantly stepped up its military operations against Hezbollah in September, when pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group’s members exploded across Lebanon and Syria. Israeli forces launched a ground offensive in early October and stepped up airstrikes, including on Beirut.
Nearly twenty people were killed in Israeli attacks in central Beirut on Thursday.
The Lebanese Prime Minister calls on the UN for a solution
Lebanese leader Mikati has urged the United Nations to adopt a resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit a request to the Security Council, calling on it to take a decision for a complete and immediate ceasefire with the implementation of Resolution 1701,” the prime minister said after a cabinet meeting .
The resolution bans the presence of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in the border area with Israel.
The Israeli army must therefore withdraw behind the Blue Line – the Lebanese-Israeli border. The resolution gives exclusive authority to the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL forces in Lebanon south of the Litani River.
He stressed that a ceasefire is necessary and that the Lebanese army must prove its role in increasing security at the southern border.
He also said Israel must stop its attacks on the civilian population and residential areas.
Mikati added that “what is happening is completely unacceptable.”
“Lebanon is a victim of Israeli arrogance that remains undeterred and violates our sovereignty in front of the world, reinforced by the suspicious silence about the massacres,” he said.
UN: Lebanese people ‘bearing the brunt’ of the fighting
More than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 2023 due to the escalation of violence between Hezbollah and Israel, the UN Human Rights Office said, citing the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Among them were 100 paramedics and other health workers.
“There are recurring reports that essential civilian infrastructure has been hit, including hospitals, clinics, ambulances and schools – along with the destruction of homes,” UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said.
“The Lebanese people are bearing the brunt of this latest phase of the conflict. According to the Ministry of Health, nearly 400 children and women are among the more than 2,000 people who have died since October 2023,” Shamdasani said.