US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has expressed his “deep concern” about reports of Israeli forces firing on UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon.
The US Defense Department says Austin raised the issue during his telephone conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday.
The Pentagon says Secretary Austin “strongly emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety and security of” UN peacekeepers.
It adds that he also “reinforced the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible.”
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, says that a peacekeeper at its headquarters in Naqoura was hit by gunfire due to ongoing military activity nearby. This brings the number of UN peacekeepers wounded at the facility since Thursday to five.
UNIFIL had earlier said that two peacekeepers at the headquarters were injured after an Israeli tank fired toward an observation tower on Thursday and another two were wounded the following day after explosions.
The incidents provoked international criticism and concern.
French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed outrage and condemned Israel in a statement on Friday. UNIFIL members include personnel from the three European countries.
The Israeli military says that hours before Friday’s incident, it “instructed UNIFIL personnel to enter into protected spaces and remain there.”
It adds, “The Hezbollah terrorist organization deliberately operates with the intent to harm Israeli civilians from civilian areas and near UNIFIL posts, thereby endangering UNIFIL personnel.”