The Albany Gazette - UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ

It is the most serious incident reported by the mission since it said last week it had rejected Israeli demands to "relocate" from some of its positions.

UNIFIL, which has about 10,000 peacekeepers stationed in south Lebanon, has called for a ceasefire since an escalation between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on September 23, after a year of cross-border fire.

"This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL's headquarters in Naqura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall," the force said, using an acronym for the Israeli military.

The two peacekeepers did not suffer serious injuries, "but they remain in hospital," it said.

A UNIFIL spokeswoman said they were Indonesian.

According to UNIFIL, the Israeli military also hit another position in Ras Naqura, further to the south, on Thursday.

The peacekeeping force said it hit "the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, and damaging vehicles and a communications system".

"An IDF drone was observed flying inside the UN position up to the bunker entrance," it said.

"UNIFIL's Naqura headquarters and nearby positions have been repeatedly hit," the force said.

On Wednesday, "IDF soldiers deliberately fired at and disabled the position's perimeter-monitoring cameras," it added.

"They also deliberately fired on (a site) where regular tripartite meetings were held before the conflict began, damaging lighting and a relay station."

"We remind the IDF and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times," it said.

- Ambassador summoned -

The defence minister of Italy, which along with Indonesia is among UNIFIL's largest troop contributors, summoned the Israeli ambassador on Thursday after the peacekeepers were wounded, a government source told AFP.

UNIFIL last week said the Israeli military, before it began ground operations inside Lebanon, had asked the peacekeepers to "relocate" from some positions.

The peacekeeping mission rejected the demand, which the president of Ireland, Michael Higgins, called "an insult to the most important global institution".

Ireland has about 370 troops in the mission.

On Sunday UNIFIL warned that Israeli operations near one of its positions southeast of Maroun al-Ras were "extremely dangerous" and compromising the Blue Helmets' safety.

Maroun al-Ras is about 27 kilometres (17 miles) east of Naqura.

Israel has pounded what it says are Hezbollah positions in Lebanon in the past two weeks, killing more than 1,200 people and displacing more than a million people from their homes, according to official figures.

It has said it is carrying out "limited" incursions across its northern border, while Hezbollah has repeatedly said it was firing on Israeli soldiers trying to advance in the area.

Earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah said that it has destroyed an Israeli tank advancing towards Ras al-Naqura, and that it had fired rockets at Israeli troops who then tried to retrieve their wounded.

The Iran-backed group also said it fired rockets at Israel troops in another Lebanese area along the frontier called Mais al-Jabal.

It said it fired rockets at several areas in northern Israel, including one area north of the city of Haifa.

UNIFIL was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in reprisal for a Palestinian attack.

It was bolstered in Security Council Resolution 1701 after Hezbollah and Israel fought a war in 2006, and its peacekeepers are tasked with monitoring the ceasefire between the two sides.

(P.Davis--TAG)