IDF: Hezbollah Missiles Strike UN Bases
The Israeli military said that approximately 165 rockets fired by Hezbollah during the current round of fighting have landed inside or adjacent to United Nations positions in southern Lebanon, raising concerns about the safety of international peacekeepers operating in the area.
The Israeli military said that approximately 165 rockets fired by Hezbollah during the current round of fighting have landed inside or adjacent to United Nations positions in southern Lebanon, raising concerns about the safety of international peacekeepers operating in the area.
According to the IDF, the incidents occurred over the course of ongoing hostilities along the northern front, where Hezbollah has launched sustained rocket fire toward Israel. The military alleged that Hezbollah has systematically operated in close proximity to positions belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), effectively placing those sites at risk.
“Throughout the war, the Hezbollah terrorist organization has exploited its proximity to UNIFIL positions and posts to advance terrorist activities against the State of Israel,” the IDF said in a statement. It added that despite the risks, Israeli forces have continued to maintain coordination mechanisms with UNIFIL personnel on the ground.
The issue drew renewed attention on Friday, when a rocket struck a UNIFIL base in the village of Odaisseh, wounding three members of the observer force, including two who were reported to be in serious condition. Israel attributed the strike to Hezbollah, though UNIFIL has not publicly confirmed the origin of the explosion.
The incident is part of a broader pattern of harm to UN personnel in southern Lebanon during the current conflict. Last week, two UNIFIL peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in an explosion that Israel said was caused by roadside bombs planted by Hezbollah. Days earlier, another Indonesian soldier was killed in a separate blast near a UN position, though a UN security source indicated that incident may have been caused by Israeli fire.
The competing accounts highlight the increasingly complex and dangerous operating environment for UN peacekeepers, who are tasked with monitoring the volatile border area between Israel and Lebanon. UNIFIL has not issued a comprehensive public response to the IDF’s latest claims regarding the number of rocket impacts near its positions.
The IDF’s statement underscores its broader accusation that Hezbollah embeds its military infrastructure within civilian and international spaces, a charge the group has previously denied. The developments come as fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border continues, with both sides reporting ongoing exchanges of fire and mounting risks to both military personnel and civilians in the region.