The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said that Israeli forces shot at its peacekeepers in its latest targeting of the UN force, as it continues to attack Lebanon on a near-daily basis in flagrant violation of a year-old ceasefire with Hezbollah.

“This morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired on UNIFIL peacekeepers from a Merkava tank from near a position Israel has established in Lebanese territory,” the peacekeepers said in a statement, adding heavy machine gun rounds hit about five metres (5.5 yards) from their personnel.

The force said the peacekeepers were able to “leave safely thirty minutes later” after the tank withdrew inside the Israeli position.

Israel said its soldiers who fired at UNIFIL did so due to “poor weather conditions” and mistook the UN patrol for “suspects”.

The Lebanese army also issued a statement, “The army command affirms that it is working in coordination with friendly countries to put an end to the ongoing violations and breaches by the Israeli enemy, which require immediate action as they represent a dangerous escalation.”

In September, UNIFIL said Israeli drones had dropped four grenades close to its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon with one landing within 20 metres (22 yards) of UN personnel and vehicles.

UNIFIL said the shooting “represents a serious violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701”, which ended a 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and also formed the basis of last November’s truce.

“Yet again, we call on the IDF to cease any aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers,” UNIFIL said on Sunday.

Advertisement

UNIFIL has been working with the Lebanese army to maintain the truce between Israel and Hezbollah reached in November 2024, which brought an end end to intensive hostilities that erupted into full-blown war after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Israel killed more than 4,000 people, mostly civilians, in its recent war on Lebanon, and displaced more than a million people. It razed dozens of villages to the ground and invaded – and still refuses to withdraw from – at least five points on Lebanese territory as stipulated under the deal.

Israel says its relentless strikes on Lebanon are targeting Hezbollah sites and fighters, without providing any evidence.

An Israeli built wall inside Lebanon

On Saturday, the National News Agency (NNA) reported Lebanon plans to file a complaint with the United Nations Security Council over Israel’s construction of a concrete wall along its southern border that traverses the “Blue Line”, a UN-backed, unofficial ceasefire line between the two countries.

According to the news agency, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun requested the complaint be issued along with recent UN reports confirming the Israeli wall has blocked off some 4,000sq metres (43,055sq feet) of territory to Lebanese people.

Established in 2000, the Blue Line is a 120km (75-mile) unofficial “border” drawn up by the UN between Lebanon and Israel.

The demarcation line’s main purpose is to confirm the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanese territory as mandated by UN Security Council resolutions.

UNIFIL on Friday said “Israeli presence and construction in Lebanese territory are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

“We again call on the [Israeli military] to respect the Blue Line in its full length and withdraw from all areas north of it,” it added.