UNIFIL accuses IDF of ‘aggressively’ flying drones above it, dropping grenade

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) accuses the Israeli military of flying drones “aggressively” above its observers this morning, with one dropping a stun grenade.

UNIFIL says that its observers were conducting a routine patrol near Kfarkela in southern Lebanon when they “observed two drones hovering aggressively above them.”

“The peacekeepers could see one of the drones was carrying an unidentified object and assessed it had entered a range that constituted an immediate threat to the safety and security of peacekeepers. Following established procedures, the peacekeepers took defensive action against the threat,” UNIFIL says, adding that “the drone then dropped a stun grenade that exploded about fifty meters away from the peacekeepers before flying toward Israeli territory.”

“Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the patrol continued,” UNIFIL says.

The observer force says it assesses that the drones belonged to the IDF, and that “such use of armed drones is unacceptable.”

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the incident, the latest in a long list of complaints lodged in recent months by the UN body against the Israeli military.

Israel has long argued that the observer force has failed in its mission, doing little to block Hezbollah from building up its forces near the Israeli border over the decades. UNIFIL’s mandate is due to expire at the end of the year.