The Jewish state says the incident in southern Lebanon was due to poor weather conditions, with no casualties reported<\/p>\n
UN peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon have accused Israel of firing on one of their patrols, criticizing the country for its \u201caggressive behavior.\u201d Israel has acknowledged that the incident occurred, but said it was not intentional and was due to poor weather conditions.
\nIn a statement on Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired on personnel from a Merkava tank.
\nIt called the incident \u201ca serious violation\u201d of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon that ended the 2006 war, stressing that it was not the first attack of this kind. \u201cYet again, we call on the IDF to cease any aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers, who are working to support the return to the stability that both Israel and Lebanon say they seek.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Israeli troops forced Palestinians into explosive-laden tunnels \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n
Israel confirmed that its forces fired on UN troops, but claimed it was by mistake. The IDF said its soldiers had identified \u201ctwo suspects\u201d in the El Hamames area and fired warning shots, after which the individuals withdrew, with no injuries reported.
\nAfter reviewing the incident, the IDF said the suspects \u201cwere UN soldiers who were conducting a patrol in the area and were classified as suspects due to poor weather conditions,\u201d adding that \u201cno deliberate fire was directed toward UNIFIL soldiers.\u201d
\nLebanon accused Israel of \u201cviolating Lebanese sovereignty, causing instability and obstructing the full deployment of the army in the south.\u201d
\nThe Israel-Lebanon border has long been a volatile area, with the Jewish state and Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah often exchanging strikes.
\nTensions soared after the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted in 2023, with Hezbollah \u2013 an ally of Hamas \u2013 launching rockets and missiles into the neighboring state, and Israel responding in kind. In late 2024, Israeli forces crossed into southern Lebanon.
\nAs part of a ceasefire deal later that year, Israel agreed to a full withdrawal, but has only done so partially \u2013 keeping several outposts in Lebanon and arguing that Hezbollah remains active in the area and poses a threat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Jewish state says the incident in southern Lebanon was due to poor weather conditions, with no casualties reported UN peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon have accused Israel of firing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22636,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t