Lebanon claims over 25 arrested for attack on UNIFIL convoy that wounded peacekeepers

BEIRUT — Lebanese authorities said Saturday that more than 25 people had been arrested following an attack by Hezbollah supporters on a United Nations convoy the day before that wounded two peacekeepers, including the force’s outgoing deputy commander.

UN and Lebanese officials have condemned Friday’s attack, which came as Hezbollah supporters blocked the road to the country’s only international airport for a second night over a decision barring two Iranian planes from landing there.

“More than 25 people have been arrested by Lebanese army intelligence,” with another person detained by the security services, Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar told reporters after an emergency security meeting Saturday.

“This does not mean these detainees carried out the attack… but the investigations will show who is responsible,” he continued.

The army and security agencies would bolster measures to “maintain security and stability,” Hajjar said, adding that violations would be treated “with all seriousness.”

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has demanded an investigation after one of its vehicles was set on fire during the incident, which wounded outgoing deputy force commander Chok Bahadur Dhakal, a Nepalese national who was heading home after ending his mission.

UNIFIL deputy spokesperson Kandice Ardiel told AFP that a second Nepalese peacekeeper was also wounded and hospitalized.

On Saturday, Hezbollah supporters again demonstrated around Beirut airport, with the Lebanese army firing tear gas to disperse them. A lawmaker from the terror group Hassan Fadlallah called on the army to hold those who fired at the protesters to account.

The Lebanese army and government “should have held immediate meetings to prevent the Israeli enemy from imposing its dictates on the airport and from continuing its occupation of Lebanese territory … instead of using force against a peaceful sit-in on the airport road,” Fadlallah added in a statement.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun vowed that “the attackers will receive their punishment,” adding that “security forces will not be lenient with any party that tries to upset stability and civil peace,” according to a statement from the presidency on X.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam strongly condemned the “criminal attack” and promised to arrest the perpetrators during a conversation with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and UNIFIL Commander General Aroldo Lazaro.

‘Civil peace’

In a meeting with Hajjar on Saturday, Salam emphasized the importance of maintaining security across the country, a statement from his office said. The premier was set to meet other “relevant ministers” later in the day.

The presidency’s statement said Aoun had stressed that the incident “cannot be allowed to be repeated,” adding that the judiciary “has begun investigations on the ground.”

The army said Friday that several areas around the airport had seen “demonstrations marked by acts of vandalism and clashes, including assaults on members of the armed forces and attacks against vehicles.”

Videos circulating on social media showed demonstrators, some hooded and carrying Hezbollah flags, attacking a man in military garb and another in civilian clothes near the torched UNIFIL vehicle.

There was no immediate official comment from Hezbollah, which, together with its allies, appeared to be scrambling to distance themselves from Friday’s attack.

Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV said in a statement posted on its social media accounts that “unruly elements caused chaos with suspicious objectives on the Beirut airport road.”

The Lebanese terror group’s ally, the Amal Movement, which is led by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said: “The attack on UNIFIL is an attack on south Lebanon” and that “blocking roads anywhere is an assault on civil peace.”

‘Absolutely unacceptable’

Several countries have condemned the incident, as did UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“Such attacks are absolutely unacceptable… The safety and security of UN personnel and property must be respected at all times,” said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres’s spokesman.

“Attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law… and may constitute war crimes,” the statement said, adding that “UNIFIL must be allowed unrestricted freedom of movement throughout Lebanon.”

The French foreign ministry released a statement that “calls on the Lebanese security forces to guarantee the security of blue-helmet peacekeeping forces, and calls on Lebanon’s judicial authorities to shed all light on this unacceptable attack and to go after those responsible.”

Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using the Beirut airport to transfer weapons from Iran, claims Hezbollah and Lebanese officials have denied.

Iran said Saturday that it was ready for “constructive talks” with Lebanon on restoring Tehran-Beirut flights.

In a telephone call, the two countries’ foreign ministers discussed “how to resolve the problem of civil flights” and “confirmed their readiness to hold constructive talks in good faith,” an Iranian foreign ministry statement said.

Iran-backed Hezbollah has a large popular base in Lebanon, though a year of hostilities with Israel and the ousting of its ally Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria have left the group weakened.

Lebanon’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said Thursday it had “temporarily rescheduled” some flights, including from Iran, until February 18 as it was implementing “additional security measures.”

The date coincides with the deadline for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and for Hezbollah to vacate positions there, under a ceasefire deal that began on November 27.

Beginning on October 8, 2023, Hezbollah-led forces attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis for months, with the group saying it did so to support Gaza amid the war there.

Hezbollah eventually expanded its attacks to also target cities in central and northern Israel with rockets, in addition to the attacks on the border.

Some 60,000 Israeli residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increase rocket fire by the terror group.

Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 46 civilians. In addition, 80 IDF soldiers and reservists died in cross-border skirmishes, attacks on Israel, and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.

Two soldiers were killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria without any injuries.

The IDF estimates that some 3,500 Hezbollah operatives were killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, were also reported killed in Lebanon.