“EThis morning, four UNTSO military observers, who were carrying out a foot patrol along the ‘Blue Line,’ which marks the border with Israel, “were injured when a shell exploded nearby,” declared the War Truce Supervision Organization. United Nations for the Middle East (UNTSO), in a statement.
Considering it “unacceptable to target peacekeeping forces”, UNTSO called on all parties to “cease the intense exchange of fire”.
The statement added that the observers were hospitalized and that “the cause of the explosion” is being investigated.
This body, which includes unarmed observers, is independent of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL), which has around 10,000 peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon, on the border with Israel.
The Lebanese national news agency (ANI) reported that “enemy planes”, referring to Israel, had bombed the Rmeich region, where the incident occurred, stating that the patrol had been the target of fire.
In a statement, the Israeli army stated that, “contrary to what was reported in the press, the army did not hit a UNIFIL vehicle in the Rmeich region this morning.”
For almost six months, the Israeli army has been facing Hezbollah on the border between Israel and Lebanon, with Shiite Hezbollah affirming support for the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in its war against Israel in Gaza.
Elements of UNIFIL peacekeeping forces have been injured since the outbreak of violence in southern Lebanon.
On Thursday, UNIFIL called for an “immediate” reduction in border tension, the day after a deadly day in which twelve civilians, including ten first responders, were killed.
In almost six months, at least 347 people have been killed in Lebanon – mostly Hezbollah fighters but also at least 68 civilians – in clashes with Israel, according to an AFP count.
Border violence also displaced thousands of people from southern Lebanon and northern Israel, where, according to the army, ten soldiers and eight civilians were killed.
Created in 1948, after the first Israeli-Arab war, UNTSO was the first peacekeeping operation created by the UN.
Read Also: At least 9 dead in two Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2531036/libano-observadores-da-onu-feridos-por-obus-junto-a-fronteira-com-israel
