News on the Middle East conflict: Dead and injured after Israel’s attacks on Beirut’s center – Politics

After two UN soldiers from the UN mission Unifil in Lebanon were injured by suspected Israeli fire, the head of the peace missions was shocked – and again called for a ceasefire. “The safety and security of peacekeepers is now increasingly at risk,” Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the UN Security Council in New York. Much of southern Lebanon, Unifil’s area of ​​operations, is “now uninhabited and increasingly uninhabitable,” Lacroix said. The operational activities of the emergency services have been largely at a standstill for about two weeks; they have retreated to their bases and spend a lot of time in shelters.

The two UN soldiers affected, two men from Indonesia, were slightly injured. They are the first victims in the ranks of the Blue Helmet mission since the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah began a week ago. Israel’s army has accused Hezbollah of using areas near Blue Helmet mission bases for its own purposes.

Israel is calling on Unifil troops to move five kilometers north for their own protection. However, Unifil did not address this, citing the mission’s mandate. “Our emergency services remained in their positions,” said Lacroix. Later, Unifil peacekeeping spokeswoman Andrea Tenent said: “We are there because the United Nations Security Council asked us to be there.” We will stay there until the situation becomes impossible for us.

The 50 countries contributing to the force had agreed to continue deploying more than 10,400 peacekeepers between the Litani River in the north and the UN-recognized border between Lebanon and Israel in the south.