Israeli minister denounces
UN peacekeepers as
fighting rages
Eli Cohen accuses Unifil bases in south Lebanon of failing to protect Israeli citizens from Hezbollah.
he said on X.The State of Israel will do everything to ensure the safety of its citizens, and if the UN cannot help, at least it should not interfere, and move its personnel from the combat zones,
Accusations have been flying between Israel and the United Nations over its peacekeepers in south Lebanon, as Israel pushes its force through the area, determined to wipe out Iran-backed Hezbollah and its military infrastructure.
The UN said Israeli tanks had burst into its base yesterday, the latest allegations of Israeli violations against peacekeeping forces, as Hezbollah unleashed a deadly "swarm of drones" on an Israeli military camp.
Israel disputed the UN account and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the peacekeepers to withdraw, saying they were providing
for Hezbollah during an upsurge in hostilities.human shields
The Unifil peacekeeping force said two Israeli Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate of a base and forcibly entered before dawn on Sunday. After the tanks left, shells exploded 100m away, releasing smoke which blew across the base and sickened UN personnel, it said in a statement.
The Israeli military said Hezbollah militants had fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops, wounding 25 of them. The attack was very close to a Unifil post and a tank helping evacuate the casualties under fire then backed into the post, it said.
Netanyahu said in a statement addressed to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres:
The time has come for you to withdraw Unifil from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones.
Hezbollah denies it uses the proximity of peacekeepers for protection.
Unifil has said previous Israeli attacks on a watchtower, cameras, communications equipment and lighting had limited its monitoring abilities. UN sources say they fear any violations of international law in the conflict will be impossible to monitor.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin in a call on Sunday with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant,
according to a readout of the call.reinforced the importance of Israel taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of Unifil forces and Lebanese Armed Forces,
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah resumed a year ago when the Iranian-backed group began firing rockets at Israeli positions in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war and has sharply escalated in recent weeks.
On Sunday, Hezbollah said it attacked a camp of the Israeli military’s Golani Brigade camp in Binyamina in northern Israel with a
.swarm of drones
Israel’s military said four of its soldiers were killed and seven severely injured in the incident.
The Middle East, meanwhile, remains on high alert for Israel to retaliate against Iran for an Oct 1 barrage of long-range missiles launched in response to Israel’s assaults on Lebanon.
The Pentagon said on Sunday it would send US troops to Israel along with an advanced US anti-missile system, as Israel weighs its expected retaliation against Iran.
Washington has been privately urging Israel to calibrate its response to avoid triggering a broader war in the Middle East, officials say.
***
kt comments:
UNIFIL represents "inconvenient eyes" on Israel's maverick activities such as unprovoked intrusions, provocations and acts of war crimes, hence the Joo-ish State wants UNIFIL out and away.
No comments:
Post a Comment