Clarion India
BEIRUT – Two UN peacekeepers in Lebanon have been wounded by Israeli fire, the mission said on Thursday, as Israel’s military ground invasion in the country continued, reported Middle East Eye.
In a statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said two of its members were wounded after a Merkava tank fired towards an observation tower at Unifil headquarters in Naqoura, “directly hitting it and causing them to fall”.
“[Israeli] soldiers also fired on UN position (UNP) 1-31 in Labbouneh, hitting the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, and damaging vehicles and a communications system,” said the peacekeeping mission.
“An IDF drone was observed flying inside the UN position up to the bunker entrance.”
Israeli attacks in Lebanon over the past month, including a bombing campaign and ground invasion, have killed over 1,200 people and displaced one million.
The Israeli military said on Thursday it had killed two senior Hezbollah members, whom it claims intended to carry out attacks in northern Israel.
In a statement, the Israeli army said Ahmed Mustafa Al Hajj Ali, Hezbollah commander of the Hula region, and Mohammad Ali Hamdan, the commander of the anti-tank unit in Meiss El Jabal region, were targeted by two separate air strikes in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah did not comment on the Israeli claims.
A number of Israeli politicians have mooted the possibility of creating a buffer zone in southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah returning to the region and being able to continue carrying out attacks into northern Israel.
This has has brought back memories of Israel’s previous occupation of southern Lebanon, which lasted from 1982 to 2000.
