UNIFIL claims IDF tank fired at its patrol in southern Lebanon yesterday

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) says its observers came under fire from Israeli troops in a tank yesterday, during a patrol along the Blue Line close to the village of Sarda.

“One ten-round burst of machine-gun fire was fired above the convoy, and four further ten-round bursts were fired nearby,” UNIFIL says.

The observer force says it “asked the IDF to stop firing through UNIFIL’s liaison channels,” adding that nobody was injured in the incident.

UNIFIL claims that the IDF was “informed of the location and timing of the patrol in advance, following usual practice for patrols in sensitive areas near the Blue Line.”

It says that attacks on or near its observers “are serious violations of Security Council Resolution 1701.”

“In this very sensitive situation, we call on the IDF to cease aggressive behaviour and attacks on or near peacekeepers working to rebuild stability along the Blue Line,” UNIFIL adds.

The IDF doesn’t immediately comment on the claim.

In recent months, UNIFIL has made an increasing number of complaints against the IDF. Last month, the IDF mistakenly fired on UNIFIL observers, blaming poor weather conditions.

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, as required under Resolution 1701. In August, the UN Security Council voted to end UNIFIL’s mission in 2027.