UN Security Council voices strong concern for peacekeepers after Israeli attacks

The UN Security Council expressed strong concern Monday as Israel has fired on and wounded UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon during intensified fighting reiterating its support for their role in supporting security in the region Its the first statement by the UNs most powerful body since Israels attacks on the positions of the peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL began last week drawing international condemnationUN peacekeeping chief JeanMarie Lacroix told reporters that SecretaryGeneral Antoacutenio Guterres confirmed Monday that peacekeepers will remain in all their positions even as Israel has urged the peacekeepers to move 5 kilometres 3 miles north during its ground invasion in LebanonIsrael has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon across a UNdrawn boundary between the two countries The sides have been clashing since the Iranianbacked militant group started firing rockets a year ago in solidarity with its ally Hamas in Gaza Hamas deadly attacks in southern Israel on Oct 7 2023 launched the warThe Security Council statement issued after emergency closed consultations on Lebanon did not name either Israel Lebanon or Hezbollah Read by Swiss UN Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl the councils current president it urges all parties to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and UN premisesThe 15member Security Council has been deeply divided over the war in Gaza with the United States defending its ally Israel as support for the Palestinians has grown among members and casualties have escalated The Biden administration has become more critical of civilian deaths as well as the recent attacks on UNIFILUS deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters that its good that the council can speak with one voice on whats on the minds of all people around the world right now and its the situation in Lebanon The councils statement sends a message to the Lebanese people that the council cares that the council is watching this issue and that the council today spoke with one voice Wood saidCouncil members also expressed deep concern at civilian casualties and suffering the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the rising number of internally displaced people More than 1400 people in Lebanon including civilians medics and Hezbollah fighters have been killed and 12 million displaced in the past month Around 60 Israelis have been killed in Hezbollah strikes in the past yearIsrael says it wants to drive the militant group away from the border so some 60000 displaced Israelis can return to their homes The Security Council statement called on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law which requires the protection of civilians Council members also called for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended the 2006 IsraelHezbollah war and recognized the need for further practical measures to achieve that outcomeThat resolution calls for the Lebanese army to deploy throughout the south and for all armed groups including Hezbollah to be disarmed neither of which has happened in the past 18 years Lacroix the undersecretarygeneral for peace operations told reporters after his closed briefing to the Security Council that five UNIFIL peacekeepers have been injured in recent days and that the UN has protested to IsraelIsrael has indicated investigations will be carried out regarding some of these incidents and we will see what comes out of this he said Israeli Army spokesman Lt Col Nadav Shoshani asserted Sunday that Israel has tried to maintain constant contact with UNIFIL and that any instance of UN forces being harmed will be investigated at the highest levelPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for UNIFIL to heed Israels warnings to evacuate accusing them of providing a human shield to Hezbollah We regret the injury to the UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone he said Sunday in a video addressed to the UN secretarygeneral who has been banned from entering IsraelLacroix on Monday stressed that all parties have a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers He also said its important that the peacekeepers stay in their positions because we all hope there will be a return to the negotiation table and that there will be finally a real effort to full implementation of resolution 1701This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever