Three UN peacekeepers lightly injured in south Lebanon ‘explosion’
- UNIFIL’s mandate, which expires at the end of the month, is set to be renewed by the UN Security Council for another year
Three United Nations peacekeepers suffered light injuries on Sunday, the UN said, after a blast near their vehicle close to Lebanon’s southern border, where Hezbollah and Israel have traded near-daily fire.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah group has exchanged cross-border fire with the Israeli army in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war.
“Earlier today, three peacekeepers on patrol were lightly injured when an explosion occurred near their clearly marked UN vehicle in the vicinity of Yarine, in south Lebanon,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.
“All peacekeepers in the patrol returned safely to their base. We are looking into the incident,” it added.
Earlier on Sunday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency had reported that “Israeli enemy warplanes” struck the village of Dhayra, about one kilometre (0.6 miles) from Yarine, “resulting in injuries”.
A UNIFIL source told journalists the explosion that injured the peacekeepers was probably a nearby air strike, but “not a direct hit”.
