Israeli Minister of Energy Eli Cohen yesterday accused the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of being a “useless” force that failed to protect Israelis from Hezbollah attacks and called on it to withdraw as fighting ramps up.
“The State of Israel will do everything to ensure the safety of its citizens, and if the UN cannot help, at least it should not interfere, and move its personnel from the combat zones,” he wrote on X.
Israel and the UN have been trading accusations over the peacekeepers in south Lebanon, as Israel pushes its forces through the area in an attempt to wipe out Iran-backed Hezbollah and its military infrastructure.
Photo: AFP
The UN said Israeli tanks on Sunday had burst into its base, the latest allegations of Israeli violations against peacekeeping forces, that have been condemned by Hezbollah and by Israel’s allies.
Israel disputed the UN account and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the peacekeepers to withdraw, saying they were providing “human shields” for Hezbollah during an upsurge in hostilities.
UNIFIL said two Israeli Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate of a base and forcibly entered before dawn on Sunday. After the tanks left, shells exploded 100m away, releasing smoke that blew across the base and sickened UN personnel, it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Middle East remained on high alert for Israel to retaliate against Iran for an Oct. 1 barrage of long-range missiles launched in response to Israel’s assaults on Lebanon.
The Pentagon on Sunday said that it would send US troops to Israel along with an advanced US anti-missile system, as Israel weighs its expected retaliation against Iran.
Hezbollah denies it uses the proximity of peacekeepers for protection.
The Israeli military took foreign journalists into southern Lebanon on Sunday and showed them a Hezbollah tunnel shaft that was less than 200m away from a UNIFIL position, as well as weapon stashes that the troops found.
Israeli Brigadier General Yiftach Norkin said the tunnels were built a few years ago.
“We are actually standing in a military base of Hezbollah very close to the UN,” Norkin said, pointing to the shaft’s trap door in an area covered by undergrowth and overlooked by a UN observation post.
Since announcing its ground operation near the border, the Israeli military says that it has destroyed dozens of Hezbollah tunnel shafts, rocket launchers and command posts.
“We found several days ago a huge quantity of weapons originally coming from Iran and Russia. Brand new,” Israeli Colonel Olivier Rafowicz said.
“They were prepared for attacking us and [launching] a large invasion into the north of Israel,” Rafowicz said, showing the journalists crates of weapons.
Reuters could not immediately verify these claims.
Hezbollah possesses an extensive tunnel network in southern Lebanon, both the group and Israel say. Israel estimates they extend for hundreds of kilometers. A Hezbollah field commander told Reuters last week that the tunnels “are the foundation of the battle.” Hezbollah has not immediately commented.
UNIFIL has said previous Israeli attacks on a watchtower, cameras, communications equipment and lighting had limited its monitoring abilities. UN sources say they fear any violations of international law in the conflict will be impossible to monitor.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell yesterday said that EU member states have taken too long to condemn Israel’s attacks on UNIFIL soldiers in Lebanon, describing the attacks as “completely unacceptable.”
EU countries, led by Italy, France and Spain, have thousands of troops in the 10,000-strong peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, which has said it has repeatedly come under attack from Israeli forces in the past few days
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a call on Sunday with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, “reinforced the importance of Israel taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces,” according to a readout of the call.
UNIFIL had sent the Israeli military a letter early this month, seen by Reuters, that said that Israeli military positions had been taken up so close to UN positions that they had effectively become “one position.”
UNIFIL said this posed a serious threat to peacekeepers.
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