UN peacekeeper injured in southern Lebanon amid escalating tension

By Wassim Seifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) - One UN peacekeeper was injured by gunfire in the town of Naqoura in southern Lebanon, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Saturday.

“Last night, a peacekeeper at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura was hit by gunfire due to ongoing military activity nearby,” the UN force said in a statement.

“We do not yet know the origin of the fire,” it said.

“We remind all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and premises, including avoiding combat activities near UNIFIL positions,” the statement added.

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against, what it claims, Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,411 people, injuring over 3,970 others, and displacing more than 1.34 million people.

The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed nearly 42,200 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Despite international warnings that the Mideast was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, it expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala