UN Security Council voices 'strong concern' for UN peacekeepers after Israeli attacks

People fleeing Lebanon walk near a crater caused by an Israeli strike near the border crossing with Syria. Pic/AFP

The UN Security Council expressed 'strong concern' Monday as Israel has fired on and wounded UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon during intensified fighting, reiterating its support for their role in supporting security in the region. It's the first statement by the UN's most powerful body since Israel's attacks on the positions of the peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL began last week, drawing international condemnation.

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Lacroix told reporters that Secretary-General António Guterres confirmed Monday that peacekeepers will remain in all their positions even as Israel has urged the peacekeepers to move 5 kilometres (3 miles) north during its ground invasion in Lebanon.

Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon across a UN-drawn boundary between the two countries. The sides have been clashing since the Iranian-backed militant group started firing rockets a year ago in solidarity with its ally Hamas in Gaza. Hamas' deadly attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, launched the war.

The Security Council statement, issued after emergency closed consultations on Lebanon, did not name either Israel, Lebanon or Hezbollah. Read by Swiss U.N. Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl, the council's current president, it urges all parties 'to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and UN premises.'

The 15-member Security Council has been deeply divided over the war in Gaza, with the United States defending its ally Israel as support for the Palestinians has grown among members and casualties have escalated. The Biden administration has become more critical of civilian deaths as well as the recent attacks on UNIFIL.

US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters that 'it's good that the council can speak with one voice on what's on the minds of all people around the world right now ' and it's the situation in Lebanon.' The council's statement sends a message to the Lebanese people 'that the council cares, that the council is watching this issue and that the council today spoke with one voice,' Wood said.

Council members also expressed 'deep concern' at civilian casualties and suffering, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the rising number of internally displaced people. More than 1,400 people in Lebanon, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million displaced in the past month. Around 60 Israelis have been killed in Hezbollah strikes in the past year.

Israel says it wants to drive the militant group away from the border so some 60,000 displaced Israelis can return to their homes. The Security Council statement called on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law, which requires the protection of civilians. Council members also called for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war 'and recognized the need for further practical measures to achieve that outcome.'

That resolution calls for the Lebanese army to deploy throughout the south and for all armed groups, including Hezbollah, to be disarmed ' neither of which has happened in the past 18 years. Lacroix, the undersecretary-general for peace operations, told reporters after his closed briefing to the Security Council that five UNIFIL peacekeepers have been injured in recent days and that the UN has protested to Israel.

Israel has indicated 'investigations will be carried out regarding some of these incidents ... and we will see what comes out of this,' he said. Israeli Army spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani asserted Sunday that Israel has tried to maintain constant contact with UNIFIL and that any instance of UN forces being harmed will be investigated at 'the highest level.'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for UNIFIL to heed Israel's warnings to evacuate, accusing them of 'providing a human shield' to Hezbollah. 'We regret the injury to the UNIFIL soldiers, and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone,' he said Sunday in a video addressed to the U.N. secretary-general, who has been banned from entering Israel.

Lacroix on Monday stressed that all parties have a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers. He also said it's important that the peacekeepers stay in their positions 'because we all hope there will be a return to the negotiation table, and that there will be finally a real effort to full implementation of resolution 1701.'

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