Bayan News – Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, has called on António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to swiftly withdraw UN peacekeeping forces from Lebanon.
On Sunday evening (October 13), in a video message addressed to Guterres, Netanyahu stated, “The time has come to pull the UNIFIL soldiers out of Hezbollah’s strongholds and conflict zones.”
In the video, the Israeli Prime Minister said, “Your refusal to do so turns them into Hezbollah’s hostages, endangering both their lives and the lives of our soldiers.” Netanyahu also claimed that Hezbollah forces were using UN peacekeepers as human shields.
This request comes after at least seven UN peacekeepers were wounded in southern Lebanon in recent days due to Israeli forces’ gunfire.
In response, shortly after Netanyahu’s request, UN peacekeepers in Lebanon (UNIFIL) issued a statement reporting continued violations of the “Blue Line” by Israeli forces.
The UNIFIL statement mentioned that earlier today, three groups of Israeli soldiers crossed the Blue Line into Lebanese territory in the Ramieh area.
UNIFIL also reported that at around 4:30 AM, two Israeli tanks broke the main gate of a peacekeeper base and forcefully entered the premises.
It is worth noting that around 40 countries, including Germany, France, and the UK, have condemned Israeli attacks on UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon.
