UN peacekeepers stick to positions in south despite 'repeated Israeli targetings'

Forces in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon are maintaining their positions despite “demands” to move from the Israeli army, a spokesperson said Friday.

Andrea Tenenti of UNIFIL, the interim force in Lebanon, says a “unanimous” decision was taken by its 50 troop-contributing countries and the U.N. Security Council to hold its positions and continue efforts to monitor the conflict and ensure aid gets to civilians.

“The IDF has repeatedly targeted our positions, endangering the safety of our troops, in addition to Hezbollah launching rockets toward Israel from near our positions, which also puts our peacekeepers in danger,” he told a U.N. news briefing in Geneva by video.

Tenenti said deteriorating security in recent weeks in the fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces had forced UNIFIL — which has some 10,000 personnel — to suspend most, but not all, of its patrols near the “blue line” boundary along the Lebanon-Israel border.

“We are seeing at the moment hundreds of trajectories, and sometimes more, crossing the blue line each day, forcing our peacekeepers to spend extended hours in shelters to ensure their safety, which remains our top priority,” he said from Beirut.

Tenenti said UNIFIL was maintaining its positions “despite IDF demands to move from positions close to the blue line.”