Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Hezbollah is using international peacekeeping troops as “human shields” and is urging the United Nations to pull them from Lebanon’s southern border, where Israel is battling the Iran-backed terror group.
About 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries are based there as the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon. Since 1978, UNIFIL troops have patrolled the area between the Litani River and the “Blue Line,” the U.N.-recognized boundary between Lebanon and Israel.
“The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones,” Mr. Netanyahu said Sunday in a televised appeal to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Your refusal to evacuate UNIFIL soldiers has turned them into hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers.”
U.N. officials said two Israel Defense Forces tanks destroyed the main gate at a UNIFIL observation post in Ramyah in southern Lebanon early Sunday and “forcibly entered the position.” The Merkava tanks remained there for about 45 minutes before leaving after UNIFIL protested through a liaison officer that the IDF presence was putting the peacekeepers in danger.
Later that morning, U.N. peacekeepers at the same position reported firing a barrage of smoke rounds about 100 meters north of them.
“Despite putting on protective masks, 15 peacekeepers suffered effects, including skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions, after the smoke cleared the camp,” UNIFIL posted Sunday on X. “The peacekeepers are receiving treatment.”
The U.N. said more than 2,000 people in Lebanon have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in the fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah. At least four UNIFIL peacekeepers have been injured since Israel launched its ground offensive into southern Lebanon about two weeks ago.
Mr. Netanyahu said Israel has repeatedly asked the U.N. to pull its peacekeepers out of the border area but UNIFIL has refused to leave.
“We regret the harm to UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing our utmost to prevent such harm. But, the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is to simply withdraw them from the danger zone,” he said. “Mr. Secretary-General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm’s way. It should be done right now, immediately.”
For the fourth time in as many days, UNIFIL on Sunday said they reminded the IDF and all other parties, including Hezbollah, of their obligations to ensure the safety of U.N. personnel and respect U.N. security positions.
“Breaching and entering a U.N. position is a further flagrant violation of international law. Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and” U.N. resolutions, UNIFIL posted on X. “UNIFIL’s mandate provides for its freedom of movement in its area of operations, and any restriction of this is a violation. We have requested an explanation from the IDF on these shocking violations.”
Mr. Guterres last week criticized actions that were putting the UNIFIL troops in danger.
“Peacekeepers must be protected by all parties of the conflict, and what has happened is obviously condemnable,” he said Friday at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Vientiane, Laos. “What we are witnessing in Lebanon is a massive operation with strikes [and] heavy bombardments — obviously with bombardments from the Hezbollah side — that are causing a dramatic number of civilians being killed.”
Mr. Netanyahu slammed European leaders for “applying pressure in the wrong place.” Rather than complain about Israel, he said they should direct their criticism at Hezbollah, which is using UNIFIL as a human shield in Lebanon just as Hamas did with the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip.
He said Israel is more determined than ever to soundly defeat the nation’s enemies and ensure peace and prosperity for future generations.
“In Lebanon, we eliminated (Hezbollah chief Hassan) Nasrallah and his senior personnel. Our heroic soldiers are destroying Hezbollah’s weapons, command centers, and terrorist tunnels,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “They are fighting forcefully to return our residents in the north safely to their homes.”
He said Israel’s fight is not with the people of Lebanon.
“We are fighting Iran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah, which has occupied Lebanon,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
On Sunday, the Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized the deployment to Israel of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery and crew to Israel to help bolster the country’s air defense following Iranian missile attacks on April 13 and Oct. 1.
“The THAAD battery will augment Israel’s integrated air defense system. This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel and to defend Americans in Israel from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” said Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. “It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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