During its ground offensive in Lebanon, the Israeli army injured several soldiers from the Unifil peacekeeping force. Prime Minister Netanyahu calls on the troops to withdraw. But the UN soldiers refuse.
Unifil peacekeepers on patrol in southern Lebanon. Israel has repeatedly attacked the force in recent years.
South Lebanon is almost deserted. Because here the Israeli army and Hezbollah are fighting each other violently. Bombs and grenades are falling in the countryside, and Israeli soldiers are now operating in the villages. Most of the inhabitants have turned their backs on the hills and valleys on the border with Israel and fled north.
Only a handful who are not involved in the fighting are dying despite constant shelling in southern Lebanon. Among these are around 10,000 blue helmet soldiers from Unifil – the United Nations observer mission in Lebanon. The soldiers of the troops, whose members come from over forty countries and whose white painted jeeps and armored personnel carriers have been part of the landscape for many years. They are sitting in their base despite daily bombardment.
But now things are getting tricky for the United Nations troops. She repeatedly finds herself in Israel’s crosshairs. The first two Indonesians fall from the watchtower due to Israeli fire and are injured, and then several peacekeepers are hospitalized with smoke inhalation. The most serious incident so far happened early Sunday morning. Two Israeli tanks entered the Unifil base and did not leave for 45 minutes.
Unifil has long been a thorn in Israel’s side
The Unifil leadership condemned in a statement that the attacks were unacceptable and violated international law. “We demand an immediate explanation from the Israeli army for these heinous violations,” he said. The force is also supported by European states such as Italy and France, which themselves have soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon, and even Pope Francis, who has called for the force to be protected.
Israel announced that it would investigate some of the incidents. Israel’s military leadership and politicians also took part. The army accused Unifil of tolerating Hezbollah positions close to its bases. During Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who quickly accused Unifil of being a protective shield for Hezbollah, finally spoke out. He asked the troops to leave their posts and leave.
Unifil, which has been present in southern Lebanon since 1978, has long been a thorn in the side of the Israelis. They criticized that Unifil is not doing enough against Hezbollah. Such voices have become louder since the Shiite militia launched a border war against Israel last October. Even before the war, the blue helmet soldiers barely managed to stop the actions of Hezbollah.
Lack of will and weak mandate
But that was really their job. After the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, the force was tasked with monitoring the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. To achieve this, Unifil was increased from 2,000 to over 10,000 men. The resolution ordered, among other things, that Hezbollah fighters withdraw northwest behind the Litani River and disarm them. Neither happened.
The UN Unifil mandate is too weak for this, as the Lebanese army is primarily responsible for implementing the resolution. Unifil is only meant to support them in this regard. So the peacekeepers work closely with Beirut’s armed forces, which are considered weak. The fact that Hezbollah managed to expand its positions in southern Lebanon after 2006 is also related to Lebanon’s lack of will and opportunity.
Meanwhile, the UN soldiers are focusing on other tasks. They monitor and report border violations, organize aid convoys, take care of refugees fleeing the contested border region, and create jobs in the economically weak area by employing local people in their base. Before the war, they also organized regular meetings between Israeli and Lebanese military officials to defuse crisis situations.
The blue helmets want to stay
The blue helmets were not just against the Israelis. The Lebanese side has also repeatedly accused the peacekeeping force of being ineffective or serving foreign interests. In 2022, a patrol of Irish UN soldiers was ambushed in southern Lebanon and attacked by an angry mob. One of the Irish was killed.
Since the start of the Israeli ground attack, the Unifil units have barely been able to complete their mission due to the heavy fire. In addition, they are fully affecting the dispute between Israel and the United Nations, which recently came to an end when the Netanyahu government declared the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres persona non grata.
The Blue Helmets still do not want to leave their positions in southern Lebanon. Unifil made this decision unanimously, said its spokesperson Andrea Tenenti in a recent interview with AFP news agency. “It is important that the UN flag continues to fly in this region and that we can continue to report to the UN Security Council in the future.”