UNIFIL accuses Israeli forces of ramming UN vehicles

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Sunday that Israeli forces rammed UNIFIL vehicles and damaged monitoring equipment in southern Lebanon, calling the incidents a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, reported Xinhua.

UNIFIL said in a statement that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers on two occasions rammed UN vehicles with a Merkava tank, causing significant damage in one incident. The Israeli troops had also blocked a road in the town of Bayada that was used to access UNIFIL positions.

Over the past week, Israeli soldiers have fired "warning shots" in the area, hitting and damaging clearly marked UNIFIL vehicles. In one incident, a shot landed roughly one meter from a peacekeeper who had exited his vehicle, according to the statement.

The statement added that Israeli forces have repeatedly denied peacekeepers freedom of movement in recent days and destroyed surveillance cameras at UNIFIL's headquarters in Naqoura and other positions along the Blue Line.

IDF also vandalized facilities at the headquarters by spray-painting the windows of a pedestrian access gate, thereby obstructing visibility of the external perimeter, said UNIFIL.

It added that these actions compromise the safety and security of peacekeepers and impede the mission's ability to fulfill its mandate, including reporting violations by all parties.

The incident comes amid escalating exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border and follows a series of recent incidents involving UNIFIL personnel.

In late March, three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon. A UN investigation determined that one died when Israeli tank fire struck a UNIFIL position on March 29. The next day, two others were killed when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle in a logistics convoy near Bani Hayyan.