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The United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has confirmed that one of its personnel was injured after an Israeli drone dropped a grenade near a UN position in the country’s south. This marks the third such incident in just over a month.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stated that the grenade exploded close to its base in Kfar Kela shortly before noon on Saturday.
“One peacekeeper was lightly injured and received medical assistance,” the mission said in a statement released on Sunday.
UNIFIL, which works alongside the Lebanese army, is helping to uphold a November ceasefire designed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, following two months of open conflict.
Earlier in October, UNIFIL reported that Israeli drones had dropped several grenades near peacekeepers who were providing protection for workers clearing rubble from the war. Similarly, in September, the mission said Israeli drones released four grenades near UN troops. Israel had then insisted that “no intentional fire” was directed at the force.
UNIFIL condemned the latest incident as “another serious violation of Resolution 1701” and expressed concern over Israel’s “disregard for the safety of peacekeepers.”
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict, also underpins the current ceasefire. Under the US-brokered deal, both parties were required to withdraw from southern Lebanon while UNIFIL, in coordination with the Lebanese military, deployed to help dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued air strikes on what it describes as Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and has maintained troops in five locations it considers strategic.
UNIFIL called on the Israeli army to “cease attacks on or near peacekeepers, who are working to restore stability that both Israel and Lebanon have pledged to uphold.”
The peacekeeping mission, established in 1978, currently consists of about 10,000 personnel from nearly 50 countries. In August, the UN Security Council voted to wind down UNIFIL’s operations by 2027.
