Khaberni - The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has announced that its soldiers, who were patrolling along the Blue Line, were subjected to a shooting incident by soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces near Sarda area.
UNIFIL stated in its announcement, "On Tuesday, peacekeepers who were patrolling along the Blue Line were subjected to fire from Israeli Defense Forces soldiers in a Merkava tank near the Sarda area. A single volley of ten bursts from a machine gun was fired over the patrol, followed by four more volleys of ten bursts each near it."
The statement clarified that "the peacekeepers requested the Israeli army through UNIFIL’s communication channels to cease fire," noting that "both the peacekeepers and the Israeli tank were inside Lebanese territory at that time, and fortunately, no injuries were recorded."
UNIFIL reported that the Israeli army "had been previously informed about the location and timing of the patrol, in accordance with the procedures adopted when patrolling sensitive areas near the Blue Line."
UNIFIL warned that "attacks on or near peacekeeping forces constitute a serious violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701," adding: "In these very sensitive circumstances, we urge the Israeli army to cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near the peacekeepers, who are working to rebuild stability along the Blue Line."
So far, the Israeli army has conducted more than 7,000 air violations and 2,400 activities north of the Blue Line with Lebanon, under the pretext of "attacking targets of the party that is rebuilding its capabilities," which these Israeli violations and activities represent, according to UNIFIL peacekeeping spokesperson Danny Ghafri, "a source of significant concern."
Meanwhile, Hezbollah confirms its full commitment to the ceasefire and demands the government and the guarantors of the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect in late November 2024, to pressure Israel to stop its violations.
