UN General Assembly president condemns Israeli attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

]By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang on Thursday condemned an Israeli attack on the positions of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon that injured two peacekeepers.

"He realizes the crucial role that UNIFIL plays in terms of the maintenance of peace and security," General Assembly spokesperson Sharon Birch said in response to a question at a news conference, adding Yang has urged all sides to fulfill their obligations under international law and international humanitarian law.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said earlier that its headquarters in Naqoura and other sites have been repeatedly shelled by Israeli forces, leaving two peacekeepers injured.

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,323 people, injuring over 3,700 others, and displacing more than 1.2 million.

The aerial campaign is an escalation in a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv’s brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 42,000 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.