The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon says Israeli tanks have forced entry at one of its positions, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN to evacuate its troops from the area.
The incident is the latest in a series of violations and attacks by Israeli forces on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in recent days and comes as Israel expands its bombardment and ground attacks on Lebanon.
UNIFIL said in a statement on Sunday that two Israeli tanks “destroyed the position’s main gate and forcibly entered the position”.
Soon after the tanks left, shells exploded 100 metres (328 feet) away, releasing smoke that blew across the base and sickened UN personnel, causing 15 to require treatment despite wearing gas masks, UNIFIL said. It did not say who fired the shells or what sort of toxic substance it suspected.
It also accused Israel’s military of halting a logistics convoy. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the statement.
“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Resolution 1701,” the United Nations force said. “UNIFIL’s mandate provides for its freedom of movement in its area of operations, and any restriction on this is a violation of Resolution 1701. We have requested an explanation from the [Israeli army] for these shocking violations.”
The incident occurred hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the UN to evacuate the peacekeeping force from combat areas in Lebanon.
“The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones,” Netanyahu said in a statement addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The Israeli army “has requested this repeatedly and has met with repeated refusal, which has the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields”, Netanyahu added.
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