Representatives of the mission were able to contact the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) through their communication channels and ask them to stop shooting, UNIFIL explained in a press release. The patrol was able to leave safely half an hour later, when the tank withdrew to the IDF positions.
“Fortunately, no one was injured,” the statement said, adding that the attack was a serious violation of Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to resolve the war between Israel and the Hezbollah militia.
In response to questions from local media, IDF representatives reportedly claimed that the attack was a result of UNIFIL troops being “misidentified” due to weather conditions, and that they had no intention of shooting at the peacekeepers.
This is the third such incident in the last three months. On September 2, IDF drones dropped four grenades near UNIFIL peacekeepers working to clear obstacles blocking access to a UN position near the “Blue Line,” the buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon patrolled by UNIFIL.
On October 26, UNIFIL reported that an Israeli drone dropped a grenade near a UN patrol, followed by tank fire directed at peacekeepers.
A mission reaching the end of its journey
The incident comes at a delicate time for UNIFIL, which will close its doors at the end of 2027, after almost half a century of presence along the Blue Line. Established in 1978 by the Security Council to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, the mission – which currently has 10,500 peacekeepers – has become a central element of the region’s relative stability.
His mandate was strengthened after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, and then again after deadly fighting between the two sides last fall, which devastated several cities in southern Lebanon. Since the cessation of hostilities in November 2024, UNIFIL has supported the redeployment of the Lebanese National Army to territories where the state is struggling to reassert its authority, while Israel maintains military positions in some areas.
“Once again, we call on the IDF to cease any aggressive behavior and attacks against or near peacekeepers,” UNIFIL insisted, recalling that its troops are “working to restore the stability that both Israel and Lebanon say they seek.”