EU condemns Israeli attack on UN peacekeepers as airstrikes in northern Lebanon kill 21

The European Union on Monday condemned the attack on UN troops in Lebanon and dismissed allegations that UN Secretary General António Guterres was responsible for the blockade of Israeli forces.

Sixteen European Union countries contribute to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, which has been patrolling the border between Lebanon and Israel for almost 50 years.

Israel wants them to leave this place.

UNIFIL said Israeli tanks forced their way into the gates of one area early Sunday and destroyed the main gate. They later detonate smoke particles near the peacekeepers, causing itchy skin. UNIFIL called the incident “a flagrant violation of international law.”

International criticism is mounting after Israel’s military has repeatedly fired on civilians since the start of operations on the ground in Lebanon two weeks ago. Five peacekeepers were injured in attacks on their areas in the past few days, most of which were blamed on the Israeli army.

‘Absolutely unacceptable’

The relationship between Israel and the United Nations was getting worse because of the way Israel conducted its war with Hamas in Gaza.

Israel began attacking Hamas after Israel’s October 7, 2023 attack on Gaza killed 1,200 people and captured about 250, according to Israeli figures. More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in this incident, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

In an unprecedented move, Israel earlier this month said the UN secretary general is invalid person in Israel.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said “UNIFIL’s work is very important. It is absolutely unacceptable to attack UN troops.”

Speaking in Luxembourg before chairing talks between EU foreign ministers, Borrell stressed that the UN Security Council decided that UNIFIL should be removed, “so stop blaming Secretary Guterres.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday dismissed allegations that the Israeli army deliberately targeted UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon as “absolute lies” and reiterated calls for them to be withdrawn from combat zones.

He said the army did everything possible to avoid harming UNIFIL personnel, when they hit Hezbollah fighters. “But the best way to ensure the safety of UNIFIL personnel is for UNIFIL to heed Israel’s request and temporarily step out of harm’s way.”

On Sunday, Netanyahu asked UNIFIL to heed Israel’s warnings to evacuate the area, accusing them of “giving a human shield” to Hezbollah.

In a video addressed to Guterres, who is banned from entering Israel, Netanyahu told the UN official that ” [UNIFIL] out of harm’s way.”

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, whose country is one of the European countries that supports Israel, said the attack was “unacceptable” and that UNIFIL would not leave.

“No, they will not withdraw. Yes, they will continue to fulfill their mission. Yes, we want all parties to respect this decision, and respect the safety and security of our green helmets,” he told reporters.

Ireland accuses Israel of working to undermine the UN

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin accused Israel of trying to prevent the world from seeing what its soldiers are doing in Lebanon and Gaza, and of working to undermine the United Nations.

Asked what Israel’s intention would be to demand that UNIFIL peacekeepers leave their bases, Martin said “actually to remove eyes and ears from southern Lebanon and empower them.”

“We will not undermine and destroy the dignity or credibility or the bodies of the United Nations, especially its peacekeeping forces,” Martin said in Luxembourg, where EU foreign ministers are meeting.

“We see what is happening in northern Gaza, for example, in terms of the need for eyes and ears on the ground. The world does not have a full picture of what is happening in Gaza,” he told the media.

“Israel is now looking down [not only] The United Nations and the peacekeeping force of the United Nations, but it is international law that is based on rules, and it needs to go back.”

Martin called on his EU colleagues “to stand up now on the side of what is fair and just and humane.”

A spokesman for the German Foreign Office told reporters in Berlin on Monday that “all parties to the conflict, including the Israeli army, are obliged to direct their fighting against the military goals of the other party in the conflict.” Sebastian Fischer said that a thorough investigation is expected and discussions on this matter have been held with the Israeli side.

Israel invades northern Lebanon

Israel increased its targets in its war against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 21 people in an airstrike in the north, health officials said.

The strike in the populous city of Aitou hit a house rented by displaced families, the city’s mayor, Joseph Trad, told Reuters. Apart from the dead, eight people were injured, said the Ministry of Health in Lebanon.

Rescuers at the site of the strike picked up the debris on Monday. Burnt cars and trees could be seen littering the ground.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah started again last year when the terrorist group started firing rockets into Israel in support of the Palestinian terrorists Hamas at the beginning of the war in Gaza. It has increased significantly in recent weeks.

So far the main focus of the Israeli military in Lebanon has been in the south, the Bekaa Valley in the east and the suburbs of Beirut.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 2,309 people in Lebanon in the past year, the Lebanese government said in a daily update. Most have been killed since late September, when Israel stepped up its military campaign. The number of taxpayers does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Israel says its operation in Lebanon is aimed at repatriating tens of thousands of people displaced from their homes in northern Israel.