UN peacekeepers suffered minor injuries on Sunday. File | Photo credit: Getty Images
Three UN peacekeepers suffered minor injuries on Sunday (August 18, 2024) when an explosion occurred near their vehicle, the United Nations said. Southern border of LebanonWhere firing between Hezbollah and Israel occurs almost daily.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah group has exchanged cross-border fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel on October 7, sparking the Gaza war.
“This morning, three peacekeepers on patrol were slightly injured when an explosion occurred near their clearly marked UN vehicle near Yarin, southern Lebanon,” the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.
Also read: Explanation | What is a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission?
“All peacekeepers involved in the patrol returned safely to their base. We are investigating the incident,” it said.
Earlier on Sunday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that “Israeli enemy warplanes” attacked the village of Dhaira, about a kilometre from Yarin, “resulting in injuries”.
A UNIFIL source said the blast which injured the peacekeepers was likely a nearby air strike, but “it was not a direct hit”.
Earlier in August, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told AFP that UNIFIL is “more important today than ever” amid ongoing cross-border clashes, as it is “the only channel of contact between the Israeli side and the Lebanese side, with all its components, such as Hezbollah”.
In April, a judicial official said that AFP An ongoing investigation by the Lebanese army has found that three UN military observers and a translator were injured in a landmine explosion last month, while Israel said Hezbollah was involved.
UNIFIL’s term expires at the end of this month, subject to renewal by the UN Security Council for another year.
Cross-border violence has killed 582 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also at least 128 civilians, according to one report. AFP match.
On the Israeli side, including the Golan Heights, 22 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, according to army figures.