Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen has branded the UNIFIL peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon as “ineffectual,” arguing they have utterly failed to shield Israelis from assaults by Hezbollah. As tensions escalate, he urged the United Nations to withdraw these forces from the combat zones.
“Israel will spare no effort in safeguarding its citizens. If the UN is unable to assist, it should at least refrain from meddling and relocate its personnel away from the danger zones,” Cohen remarked on social media platform X.
This exchange between Israel and the United Nations has become increasingly heated, with mutual accusations concerning the effectiveness of the peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. As the Israeli military intensifies its operations to dismantle the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its military capabilities, the stakes have certainly risen.
In a recent report, the UN asserted that Israeli tanks had breached its base, marking yet another instance of alleged transgressions against peacekeeping forces. These actions have drawn sharp rebukes from Hezbollah and some of Israel’s allies.
The UNIFIL force stated that in the pre-dawn hours yesterday, two Israeli Merkava tanks not only demolished the main entrance of a UN base but also forcibly invaded it. Following their departure, projectiles detonated just 100 meters away, sending clouds of smoke wafting onto the base and making UN personnel ill, as outlined in their official statement.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that all Irish peacekeeping personnel in Lebanon were safe and accounted for.
In an orchestrated media event, the Israeli military escorted foreign journalists into southern Lebanon to showcase a Hezbollah tunnel entrance located less than 200 meters from a UNIFIL position. They also displayed various caches of weaponry discovered in the region.
Brigadier General Yiftach Norkin detailed that these tunnels were constructed in recent years. Following the announcement of its ground operations near the Lebanese border, the Israeli military claimed to have obliterated dozens of Hezbollah tunnel entrances, rocket launch sites, and command centers.
Both Hezbollah and Israel acknowledge the existence of an extensive underground tunnel network in southern Lebanon, which Hezbollah has constructed for military purposes.
In parallel, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, expressed frustration, stating that EU member nations have taken too long to denounce Israel’s assaults on UNIFIL soldiers in Lebanon, labeling these attacks as “wholly intolerable.”
In a shocking escalation, the Israeli military reported that a drone affiliated with Hezbollah was responsible for the deaths of four soldiers at one of its facilities in the northern part of Israel last night.
This strike on a military training base in Binyamina, located close to Haifa, turned out to be the most deadly assault on an Israeli installation since September 23, during which Israel intensified its military actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Emergency services reported over 60 individuals wounded as a result of the attack.
In a separate incident, authorities in Gaza revealed that Israeli airstrikes on a school used as a sanctuary for displaced families had claimed 15 lives, affecting entire families. Additionally, another airstrike on a hospital during the night resulted in four fatalities.
Israeli emergency responders were seen seeking shelter during alerts about drone attacks.
Hezbollah issued a stern warning to Israel, declaring, “What happened in southern Haifa is merely a hint of the retribution that awaits if Israel continues its aggression against our brave and beloved community.”
The volunteer rescue organization, United Hatzalah, reported assisting over 60 injured individuals, with a range of injuries from mild to life-threatening.
For continuous updates, keep an eye on live coverage as events unfold in the Middle East.
For over a year, Hezbollah has been firing rockets and deploying drones into Israeli territory in support of Hamas militants in Gaza. Notably, the recent months have seen its strikes reach deeper within Israel.
Thanks to Israel’s advanced air defense systems, most incoming projectiles have been intercepted, with casualties remaining relatively low from both direct strikes and debris fallout.
Israeli military operations are increasingly targeting locations outside of the expected Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut and surrounding regions. The Israeli air force has reportedly hit “Hezbollah rocket launchers, anti-tank positions, munitions depots,” and assorted military targets, while ground troops have reportedly eliminated numerous fighters.
Lebanon’s National News Agency has reported that Israeli military activity has intensified, characterized by “a series of airstrikes” affecting multiple border villages.
Reports of an Israeli airstrike in Mayfadoun, near Nabatiyeh, indicated that five individuals lost their lives and another was injured.
Hezbollah claimed its forces have engaged with Israeli soldiers trying to infiltrate border villages on several occasions. Before the drone strike occurred, Hezbollah had announced the launch of rockets at a “base in southern Haifa.”
Additionally, they released an audio recording featuring the late leader Hassan Nasrallah, urging his fighters to “protect this sacred land and its noble populace.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has conveyed that “attacks” against peacekeepers might rise to the level of a war crime.
Following Nasrallah’s death in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut on September 27, other senior commanders from Hezbollah have also been killed in the ongoing conflict.
According to the Israeli military, by yesterday afternoon, approximately 115 projectiles from Hezbollah had already crossed into Israeli territory.
Moreover, authorities announced the capture of a Hezbollah fighter who emerged from a tunnel in southern Lebanon—marking the first such capture since ground operations began.
Since September 23, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have resulted in over 1,300 fatalities, as per an AFP tally of official figures, surpassing the total Lebanese casualties of 1,200 reported during the last conflict between Hezbollah and Israel back in 2006. Notably, that earlier conflict primarily affected military personnel with 160 deaths in Israel.
In response to the escalating tensions and potential threats from Iran, the Pentagon announced the deployment of a high-altitude anti-missile system along with U.S. military personnel to support Israel’s defense capabilities.
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
