Defying Israel, UNIFIL chief says peacekeepers to ‘stay in all positions’ in Lebanon

Illustrative: A general view of a base of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the Lebanese-Israeli border, in the southern village of Markaba, on April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
Illustrative: A general view of a base of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the Lebanese-Israeli border, in the southern village of Markaba, on April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

United Nations peacekeepers will stay in all positions in Lebanon despite Israeli calls for them to move, given intensifying fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and five blue helmets suffering injuries, the UN peacekeeping chief says.

“The decision was made that UNIFIL would currently stay in all its positions in spite of the calls that were made by the Israel Defense Forces to vacate the positions that are in the vicinity of the Blue Line,” says UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

The IDF and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have made repeated calls in recent days to UNIFIL to evacuate from active combat zones, arguing that Hezbollah has been using its positions as human shields.

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