Benjamin Netanyahu called for the withdrawal of UN troops after an attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon [UNIFIL]. Guterres recalls that attacks on 'blue helmets' could constitute a war crime. US announces sending aid to Israel.
Four soldiers were killed and 60 injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on an Israeli military base. This is considered the deadliest attack by the terrorist group to date, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a ground operation in Lebanon about two weeks ago.
Hezbollah said it was retaliation for last Thursday's Israeli attacks on Beirut, in which 22 people were killed.
The attack took place on the same day that US President Joe Biden announced the sending of an anti-missile defense system to Israel, as well as the deployment of more than 100 troops. This US aid thus deepens US involvement in this war.
The United States is thus aligning itself with a war scenario that appears to be out of control, with Israeli forces even attacking a UN base in Lebanon, an action that the Israeli Prime Minister quickly reversed, not without issuing a warning.
On Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu asked UN Secretary-General António Guterres to immediately withdraw military personnel from areas where Israel is fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Israeli Prime Minister stated that the terrorist group is using the blue helmets as “human shields”.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, in turn, recalled that attacks against 'blue helmets' could constitute a war crime.
"The Secretary-General reiterates that personnel of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon [UNIFIL] and its facilities must never be attacked. Attacks against peacekeepers constitute a violation of international law, including international humanitarian law. They may constitute a war crime," read a statement from Guterres's UN spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric.
Netanyahu's comments come after the United Nations confirmed that its base in Lebanon was attacked by two Israeli tanks last Friday. In a statement, the IDF said its soldiers "identified an immediate threat against them" and responded with "counter-threat fire." Fifteen UN personnel were wounded.
