UN chief condemns explosion in south Lebanon that injured 4 UN peacekeepers
In southern Lebanon, UN peacekeepers were injured in an explosion (photo: Getty Images)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns the explosion in southern Lebanon, which injured four peacekeepers of the organization. Lebanon has blamed Israel for the attack, but Tel Aviv rejects the accusations, according to The Times of Israel.
The injured were hurt when a shell exploded near them. The UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) did not establish the source of the shelling.
Earlier, two unnamed security sources accused Israel of the strike in comments to Reuters, saying it took place outside the southern Lebanese border town of Rmeish. A source told Reuters the car was carrying three UN technical observers and one Lebanese translator when it was struck.
Guterres' office stated that an investigation is currently underway by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
In the statement, Guterres’s office says the situation on the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel since 8 October last year, with daily exchanges of fire between non-state armed groups based in Lebanon and the Israel Defense Forces, continues to be of grave concern, and that hostilities are in violation of Security Council resolution 1701 which was intended to resolve the 2006 Lebanon War.
“The impact on civilian areas, with dozens of civilian fatalities reported, destruction of residential and agricultural areas, and displacement of tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Blue Line, is unacceptable. These actions pose a grave threat to the security and stability of Lebanon, Israel, and the region,” Guterres’s office says.
Attacks by the Hezbollah group
Hezbollah (Party of God taken from the Quran) is a militarized Lebanese Shiite organization and political party advocating for the creation of an Islamic state in Lebanon. The organization was formed during the Lebanese Civil War in 1982 by a group of radical Shiite clerics with financial support from Iran. Its stated goal was to militarily resist the Israeli occupation of parts of Lebanon.
With the start of the Israel Defense Forces' ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, Hezbollah fighters began rocket attacks on Israeli territory and American targets in neighboring countries. The terrorists almost daily attack Israeli cities and military facilities, explaining their actions as support for Hamas terrorists.
Tel Aviv fears that Hezbollah fighters may also invade Israel, as Hamas did in October last year.
On Wednesday, March 27, Israel carried out an airstrike on Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. At least seven people were killed.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Hezbollah's attacks are escalating and could force the country to begin military operations in Lebanon.
