Israeli tank fire injures peacekeepers in Lebanon, UN says

ROME — Two United Nations peacekeepers were hospitalized after an Israeli tank fired at an observation tower Thursday, according to the U.N. mission in southern Lebanon.   

The U.N. peacekeeping mission UNIFIL has been operating along the “Blue Line” that separates Lebanon and Israel since the 1970s, with a mandate to restore security in the area.

Earlier this week, Israel’s military expanded its ground invasion of southern Lebanon and told civilians to leave.

The U.N. said in a statement that Israeli forces have “repeatedly hit” its positions in recent days, including two Italian bases and the mission headquarters in Naqoura, a coastal town in the southwest of Lebanon.

Israel Defense Forces soldiers also fired on a bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering in another base, the U.N. said, adding that on Wednesday soldiers “deliberately fired at and disabled” security cameras.

The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The injured soldiers, who were Indonesian, according to Italian media reports, were not badly hurt but were taken to hospital, the mission said.

“This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall,” the statement said.

“We remind the IDF and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times … Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” it added.

The Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto on Thursday summoned the Israeli ambassador to Italy to account for the incident, according to a government official.