Israel attacks UN troops in Lebanon again
An observation post of the international peacekeeping force at its main base in Naqoura was hit, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a UN insider. The Israeli armed forces also entered the area around another Unifil position, which they shelled on Thursday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the Israeli military’s attacks on UN peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon. These incidents are unacceptable, he said addressed to Israel. The peacekeepers of the Unifil force must be protected. “We cannot allow the Middle East conflict to escalate; it represents a threat to global security,” says the UN Secretary General. Everything must be done to avoid an all-out war in Lebanon.
At the beginning of October, the Israeli foreign minister declared Guterres “persona non grata” and refused him entry into his country because, in the country’s opinion, he had not “unambiguously” condemned Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
US President Joe Biden says he wants to ask the Israeli government to stop attacks on peacekeepers in Lebanon. A journalist asked Biden at an appointment at the White House: “Are you calling on Israel to stop attacking UN peacekeepers?” To which the president replied: “Absolutely.”