UNIFIL accuses IDF of harming its ‘freedom of movement’ in southern Lebanon

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon accuses the IDF of harming its “freedom of movement” in southern Lebanon and damaging its vehicles today.

On two occasions today, UNIFIL says, Israeli troops “rammed UNIFIL vehicles with a Merkava tank, in one case causing significant damage.”

The observer force says that the IDF soldiers “blocked a road in Bayada that is used to access UNIFIL positions.”

“Over the past week, Israeli soldiers have fired ‘warning shots’ in the area, striking and damaging clearly identifiable UNIFIL vehicles. In one case, a ‘warning shot’ landed a meter away from a peacekeeper who had dismounted his vehicle,” the statement says.

UNIFIL says “Israeli soldiers have continually blocked peacekeepers’ movements on this road in recent days, in addition to denials of freedom of movement recorded in other areas.”

The observer force says that earlier this month, IDF troops also destroyed cameras at UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters and “five other positions on the Blue Line from Ras Naqoura to Maroun ar Ras.”

“Yesterday, they also spraypainted the windows of the headquarters’ pedestrian access gate, denying visibility to the external perimeter,” it says.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the claims.

The IDF has previously said it is battling Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and “not against UNIFIL, the Lebanese Armed Forces, or Lebanese civilians.”

“The IDF calls on UNIFIL to avoid presence in combat zones where the IDF has issued warnings to the civilian population to evacuate for their safety,” the military has previously said.

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 decades.