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10/11/2024 October 11, 2024 UN peacekeepers to stay in Lebanon despite Israeli attacks
United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanonsay they are determined to remain at their posts despite attacks by the Israeli military.
The UN's peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said in a statement that an Israeli tank opened fire on its watchtower at its headquarters in the town of Naqoura on Thursday.
"This is probably one of the most serious events or incidents that we've witnessed in the last 12 months," said Andrea Tenenti, UNIFIL?s spokesman, adding that:
"We are there because the [UN] Security Council has asked us to be there, so we are staying until the situation becomes impossible for us to operate."
Two peacekeepers from Indonesia were injured, while the attack also damaged vehicles and a communications system.
In a statement, UNIFIL also claimed that Israeli troops "deliberately fired at and disabled" cameras monitoring the area.
What role is UNIFIL supposed to play in southern Lebanon? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
The mission consists of more than 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries deployed between the Litani River in the north and the internationally-recognized border between Lebanon and Israel in the south, known as the Blue Line.
UNIFIL's main task is to assist the Lebanese army in keeping the country's south free of weapons and armed personnel not belonging to the Lebanese state. But the area is effectively controlled by Hezbollah.
Although thousands of people have left the region, many civilians remain caught up in the fighting and Tenenti said the force still had crucial work to do "assisting local NGOs and also UN agencies to bring much-needed food and water to these villages."
