UN Says It Will Not Withdraw Peacekeepers From Southern Lebanon

Spanish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon coordinate their patrol with the Lebanese Military Police, in Marjayoun in south Lebanon on Oct. 8, 2024. -/AFP via Getty Images

The U.N. Security Council has refused to bow to Israeli pressure and withdraw peacekeepers from southern Lebanon and has urged both sides to respect their neutrality.

In a statement issued on Monday, the security council also expressed “deep concern” at mounting civilian casualties, the destruction of infrastructure and the number of homeless people in Lebanon.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Lacroix told journalists in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres had confirmed Monday the peacekeepers would remain in all their positions despite requests from Israel for them to move three miles north.

Israeli troops entered southern Lebanon on Oct. 1 to flush out Hezbollah fighters who have been firing rockets across the border and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping force of  “providing a human shield” to the terrorists.

On Sunday, in a video speech address to the U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, he said, “We regret the injury to the UNIFIL soldiers, and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone.”

Hamas—which launched an unprovoked attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023—killing 1,200 people, is allied with Hezbollah, and Israel is now fighting on two fronts.

The U.N. Security Council issued a statement on Monday night, which did not name Israel or Hezbollah.

‘Respect Safety of UNIFIL’

In the statement, read out by Swiss U.N. Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl, who is the security council’s president, they urged all parties, “to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and U.N. premises.”

The U.N. and Israel traded accusations on Monday about an incident at a UNIFIL base at Ramyah.

The U.N. said two Israeli Merkava tanks destroyed the base’s main gate and forcibly entered.

After they left, shells exploded 100 meters away, releasing smoke that blew across the base and sickened U.N. personnel, the force said in a statement.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, “Five peacekeepers have been injured during these incidents, including one peacekeeper who sustained a bullet wound. The source of that gunfire has yet to be confirmed by UNIFIL.”

But the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hezbollah had fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops, wounding 25 of them.

The attack was very close to a UNIFIL post, and a tank helping evacuate the casualties under fire then backed into the UNIFIL post, the IDF said.

“It is not storming a base. It is not trying to enter a base. It was a tank under heavy fire, mass casualty event, backing up to get out of harm’s way,” the Israeli military’s international spokesperson Nadav Shoshani told reporters.

The U.N. Security Council statement went on to call on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law, which requires the protection of civilians.

They also called for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, “and recognized the need for further practical measures to achieve that outcome.”

That resolution calls for the Lebanese army to deploy throughout southern Lebanon and for Hezbollah to be disarmed, neither of which happened.

Russian Ambassador Accuses Israel

Russia’s Ambassador to the U.N., Vassily Nebenzia said, “UNIFIL cannot prevent the hostilities. UNIFIL is being jeopardized and endangered and one country openly threatens its personnel, which is unacceptable.”

The security council has been divided on the conflict since Oct. 7, 2023, with the United States staunchly defending Israel, amid growing support and concern for Palestinian and Lebanese civilians among some of the 14 other members.

But the security council is united on the issue of Lebanon.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on Oct. 13, 2024, amid the continuing war between Hezbollah and Israel. AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told journalists, “It’s good that the council can speak with one voice on what’s on the minds of all people around the world right now, and it’s the situation in Lebanon.”

Wood said the security council statement sent a message to the Lebanese people, “that the council cares, that the council is watching this issue and that the council today spoke with one voice.”

An estimated 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon in the past month, according to Lebanese authorities. It is unclear how many of those have been Hezbollah fighters and how many been civilians.

The U.N. also estimates around 1.2 million people have been internally displaced in the past month in Lebanon.

Hezbollah rocket and drone strikes have killed around 60 Israelis in the past 12 months, including four Israeli soldiers who were killed in an attack on a Golani Brigade base in Binyamina on Oct. 13.

Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.