UN says Lebanon mission targeted 30 times in October

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon recorded more than 30 incidents this month resulting in property damage or injury to peacekeepers, about 20 of them from Israeli fire or action, a spokesman says.

The UN peacekeeping force has been thrust into the front lines of the new war between Israel and Hezbollah, with Israel repeatedly calling on peacekeepers to abandon their positions, and UNIFIL refusing.

Of the 30 incidents this month, “about 20 of those we could attribute to IDF fire or actions, with seven being clearly deliberate,” Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the force, known as UNIFIL, tells a news conference held by video.

“What has been very concerning are incidents where peacekeepers performing their monitoring tasks, as well as our cameras, lighting and entire watchtowers, have been deliberately targeted by the IDF,” Tenenti says.

Israel maintains it does not target UN forces, but that they are sometimes caught in the crossfire with Hezbollah.

On Monday, a rocket that was probably fired by Hezbollah or an affiliated group hit the headquarters of the UN mission in the Lebanese city of Naqoura, he says.

For about a dozen other incidents, the origin of fire could not be determined.