President Biden called on Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Friday, while three European leaders issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s attacks.
Israeli troops wounded four members of the UN Interim Force in Southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) in two separate incidents on Thursday and Friday, sparking strong international backlash and raising additional scrutiny on its ground operation in the area.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pressed his Israeli counterpart to take steps to prevent such incidents, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Asked if he was calling on Israel to stop hitting peacekeepers, Biden said: “Absolutely, positively.”
Two peacekeepers were injured Thursday when an Israeli tank fired at their position, while two more were injured Friday in explosions near an observation tower, UNIFIL said.
Meanwhile, UNIFIL’s headquarters has sustained damage from explosions and another UNIFIL position near the border was damaged by an Israeli military construction vehicle.
Fossil
Article URL : https://www.axios.com/2024/10/11/israel-attack-un-peacekeepers-unifil-pentagon