"The decision was made that UNIFIL would currently stay in all its positions in spite of the calls that were made by the Israel Defense Forces to vacate the positions that are in the vicinity of the Blue Line," said UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, according to the report.
"I want to emphasize that this decision still remains," Lacroix added, noting that the plan was reaffirmed earlier on Monday by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council unanimously expressed "strong concerns" following the recent incidents in which UNIFIL personnel were injured.
"Against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities along the Blue Line, the members of the Security Council expressed their strong concerns after several UNIFIL positions came under fire in the past days," said Switzerland’s UN ambassador, Pascale Baeriswyl, who holds the council’s rotating presidency. "Several peacekeepers have been wounded."
In a statement that did not specifically mention Israel, the 15 council members "urged all parties to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises. They recalled that UN peacekeepers and UN premises must never be the target of an attack."
UNIFIL has accused Israel in recent days of deliberately targeting its peacekeepers in Lebanon.
The IDF has stressed that the IDF instructed UNIFIL personnel to enter into protected spaces before the strikes and added and explained that Hezbollah deliberately operates with the intent to harm Israeli civilians from civilian areas and near UNIFIL posts.
On Sunday, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that a large barrage of anti-tank missiles was fired toward IDF troops in southern Lebanon.
During the attack, two IDF soldiers were severely injured and multiple other soldiers were lightly and moderately injured. Their families have been notified, said the IDF.
“An initial review showed that an IDF tank that was trying to evacuate injured soldiers while still under fire backed several meters into a UNIFIL post. Once the enemy fire stopped, and following the evacuation of the injured soldiers, the tank left the post,” it added.
“During the incident, a smoke screen was used to provide cover for the evacuation of the injured soldiers. IDF soldiers maintained coordination with UNIFIL. Throughout the entirety of the incident, no danger was posed to UNIFIL forces by the IDF activity,” the IDF stressed.
Later on Sunday, the IDF revealed that over the past month, approximately 25 rockets and missiles have been launched at Israeli communities and IDF troops from Hezbollah’s terrorist compounds embedded near UNIFIL posts in southern Lebanon, exploiting their proximity to UN forces. One of the attacks resulted in the deaths of two IDF soldiers.
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to accusations that the IDF has targeted UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon, calling these accusations "completely false."
"The charge that Israel deliberately attacked UNIFIL personnel is completely false," Netanyahu stated. "It's exactly the opposite. Israel repeatedly asks UNIFIL to get out of harm's way. It repeatedly asked them to temporarily leave the combat zone, which is right next to Israel's border with Lebanon."
"In fact," he said, "on the day that Israel began its ground operation next to our border with Lebanon, we asked them specifically, 'Please leave this area so you're not harmed.'"
Netanyahu declared that "Israel is not fighting UNIFIL, it is not fighting the people of Lebanon. It is fighting Iran's proxy Hezbollah, which uses Lebanese territory to attack Israel. Hezbollah attacked Israel last year without any provocation on October 8th, a day after the Hamas massacre, and it's continued to attack us ever since by launching over 10,000 rockets and missiles at Israel." Israel National News - Arutz Sheva
