Israeli soldiers attack UN peacekeepers who were observing them

Israeli soldiers attacked UN peacekeepers at an observation post in southern Lebanon who were watching nearby military airstrikes, the UN said on Friday, as Israeli forces appear to be targeting people documenting their attack on the country.

In a statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said peacekeepers were on a permanent observation post near Dhayra on Tuesday and observed as Israeli forces carried out “clearance operations” in the area.

“Realizing they were being watched, the IDF soldiers fired at the post. The guards on duty withdrew to avoid being shot,” he added the group stated.

UNIFIL noted that Israeli forces repeatedly demanded that peacekeepers in southern Lebanon abandon their posts and “intentionally damage cameras, lighting and communications equipment” at UN posts. “Despite the pressure on the mission and our troop-contributing countries, peacekeepers remain in position and carry out their tasks. We will continue to fulfill our monitoring and reporting mandate,” the group said.

The attack is the latest evidence that Israel is trying to ensure that its actions are not documented by outside observers, some experts have noted, as Israeli forces have noted dam southern Lebanon and Beirut, killing at least 1,900 people so far last month.

As part of its mission to report violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the UN peacekeeping force patrol and monitoring military operations of Israeli forces or Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. In recent weeks, although international law prohibits attacks on peacekeepers, Israeli forces have carried out at least twenty such attacks attacks at UNIFIL, incl attack with white phosphorus which injured 15 UN peacekeepers.

The group noted on Friday that peacekeepers have seen military “clashes” at least this month 12 locations in South Lebanon.

“The exclusion of external observers, whether journalists or UN peacekeepers, appears to be a deliberate strategy to limit the scrutiny of Israeli forces at a time when they are needed most” – Shane Darcy, professor at the National University of Galway and member of the Commission on – said the Irish Center for Human Rights Al Jazeera Lately.

Additionally, Israeli forces on Friday killed three journalists in southern Lebanon around 4 a.m. local time. Israel gave no warning before the attack, which witnesses say was intentional because Israeli forces were aware that journalists were staying in the facility they bombed.

While Israel targets those reporting their atrocities, Israeli forces carry out horrific attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

On Friday, Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said Israel had attacked 55 hospitals in Lebanon during his attack, which has so far closed eight hospitals. Abiad said that at least 151 paramedics were killed and 212 injured in Israeli attacks on ambulances and first responders. Additionally, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced this on Thursday over 100 health centers, or one third of the country’s health centers, were forced to close due to Israeli attacks.

“The attacks on the medical and paramedical sector in Lebanon are a direct and deliberate aggression,” Abiad said. “It’s a war crime.”