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The United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon UNIFIL said Israeli tanks forced their way into one of its positions. The incident is the latest in a series of violations and attacks by Israeli forces against the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in recent days and comes as Israel expands its bombardment and ground offensive against Lebanon.
UNIFIL said in a statement on Sunday that two Israeli tanks destroyed the position’s main gate and entered the position by force.
As soon as the tanks left, a grenade exploded 100 meters away, releasing smoke that wafted throughout the base and sickened UN personnel. This, UNIFIL said, resulted in 15 people requiring treatment despite wearing gas masks. It was not stated who fired the grenade or what type of toxic substance was suspected.
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In its report on the incident, the Israeli military said fighters from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah had fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops and wounded 25 of them. The attack was very close to the UNIFIL post and the tanks that were helping to evacuate the victims were fired upon and then withdrew to the UNIFIL post.
“They did not storm the base. They did not try to enter the base. They were heavily shelled tanks, with many casualties, retreated to get out of harm’s way,” international military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters.
In a statement, the military said they used smoke screens to provide cover for the evacuation of wounded soldiers but that their actions did not harm UN peacekeepers.
The incident occurred hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the UN to evacuate peacekeepers from fighting areas in Lebanon. “It is time for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah’s strongholds and from the battle zone,” Netanyahu said in a statement addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
The Israeli army, “has asked for this repeatedly and met with repeated rejection which has had the effect of providing human shields for Hezbollah terrorists,” Netanyahu added. (Al Jazeera/Z-2)
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