UNIFIL reported that Israeli soldiers fired from a Merkava tank at its peacekeepers on Sunday near an Israeli military position inside Lebanese territory. The peacekeepers, who were coordinating truce efforts alongside the Lebanese army, said heavy machine gun rounds struck the ground roughly five meters from their personnel. UNIFIL confirmed that its team left unharmed after the Israeli tank withdrew. The mission condemned the event as a “serious violation” of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which underpins the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah reached in November. Despite the agreement, Israel continues to hold several strategic positions in south Lebanon and carries out regular strikes against targets it says are linked to Hezbollah. Sunday’s incident adds to previous cases in which UNIFIL has accused Israeli forces of endangering its staff, prompting renewed appeals for the IDF to halt aggressive actions near peacekeepers.
