The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Friday that Israeli troops dropped grenades close to its personnel and Lebanese soldiers during a mission in a border village at the Lebanese-Israeli border.
According to a UNIFIL statement, the incident took place late on Thursday morning as peacekeepers and Lebanese army units were overseeing civilian workers clearing rubble from homes destroyed in the recent conflict in the area of Maroun al Ras.
According to the UNIFIL statetment “Around 11:30 am local time, peacekeepers at two sites reported a grenade exploding near an excavator about 500 metres away. Minutes later, one team saw a drone overhead before another explosion went off 30 to 40 metres from their position.”
It added that a second group said they then witnessed a drone releasing a grenade that detonated only 20 metres above them.
No one was injured, and work continued after the force demanded that the firing stop.
UNIFIL stressed that the Israeli army had been informed of the activity in advance.
The mission warned that attacks or interference with its operations show “disregard for the safety and security” of its personnel and the Lebanese army, calling the incident a “serious violation” of UN Security Council resolution 1701.
The Israeli military told dpa it was still checking the report.
UNIFIL has been deployed in south Lebanon since 1978 and currently fields about 10,000 personnel from nearly 50 countries.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been in place since late November, though both sides regularly accuse each other of breaches.
Israel continues near-daily operations in Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of attempting to rebuild its military capabilities in the south.
In August, Lebanon’s government approved a US-backed plan to disarm Hezbollah in the country.
