Israeli forces fire at UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon while row grows over UNIFIL Blue Line report

Israeli military forces opened fire on United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Sunday, in an incident the U.N. peacekeeping mission described as a serious violation. None of the U.N. forces were reported wounded.

Israeli soldiers had opened fire on two suspects in the El Hamames area near the Israeli border, only later realising that they were U.N. peacekeepers, the military said in a statement. It said the peacekeepers were misidentified due to poor weather conditions and that the incident was under review.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said the Israeli forces had fired from a Merkava tank positioned inside Lebanese territory toward the peacekeepers, who were on foot. Heavy machine-gun fire landed about five metres from them, forcing the peacekeepers to seek shelter. The Israeli tank withdrew after peacekeepers contacted the Israeli military through official channels, UNIFIL said.

The mission called the incident a “serious violation” of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which states that no armed forces should operate in southern Lebanon except U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese military. The Lebanese army said Israeli violations of its sovereignty created instability and hindered its ability to deploy in the south.

Israel maintains five military posts inside Lebanon and continues to carry out airstrikes in the south, which it says target Hezbollah. Although Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last year requiring Hezbollah to disarm in the south and Israeli forces to fully withdraw, each side accuses the other of violating the agreement.

That same question of where Israeli forces operate—and where exactly the demarcation line lies—re-emerged in a separate UNIFIL survey last month, which found that a wall built by the Israeli military crosses the Blue Line, the de facto border between Lebanon, Israel, and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

According to U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the concrete T-wall erected by the IDF has made more than 4,000 square meters of Lebanese territory inaccessible to residents. Peacekeepers also reported that a section of another wall under construction southeast of Yaroun has crossed the Blue Line as well. UNIFIL informed the Israeli military of its findings and requested the wall’s removal, noting that Israeli presence and construction in Lebanese territory violate Resolution 1701 and Lebanon’s sovereignty.

An Israeli military spokesperson denied that the wall crosses the Blue Line, saying it is part of a broader plan begun in 2022 to reinforce the northern barrier, especially in light of lessons learned during the ongoing conflict.

UNIFIL, established in 1978, operates between the Litani River and the Blue Line, with more than 10,000 troops from 50 countries and about 800 civilian staff.