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 its neutrality.
In a statement issued on Oct. 14, 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-Pierre Lacroix told reporters in New York on Oct. 14 that the peacekeepers would remain in 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. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping force of “providing a human shield” to the terrorists.
On Oct. 13, in a video speech addressed to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Netanyahu 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.”
Respect Safety of UNIFIL
In an Oct. 14 statement, read by Swiss U.N. Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl, the Security Council’s president, it urged all parties “to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and U.N. premises.”
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 Stéphane 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 called on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law, which requires the protection of civilians.
It 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.”
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 council members.
But the Security Council is united on the issue of Lebanon.
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told reporters, “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 were Hezbollah fighters and how many were civilians.
The U.N. also estimates that about 1.2 million people have been internally displaced in the past month in Lebanon.
