UPDATE - 3 UN peacekeepers injured in Israeli attack in Lebanon

UPDATES WITH UNIFIL STATEMENTS, GAZA DEATH TOLL

By Naim Berjawi

BEIRUT (AA) - At least three soldiers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured on Saturday in an Israeli raid that targeted their vehicle in the south of the country, according to official media.

“A four-wheel-drive vehicle belonging to UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organization) truce observers near Point B37 on the Blue Line, on the border with occupied Palestine, was subjected to an Israeli attack at approximately 10:15 a.m. this morning,” the Lebanese National News Agency reported.

It added that the vehicle was “targeted by a direct missile, which resulted in the injury of three officers and a civilian translator, one of them was critically injured.”

“Rescue operation is currently underway to transport the injured by UNIFIL helicopter,” it added.

Meanwhile, the UNIFIL expressed its concern “over the surge of violence across the Blue Line right now.”

“This escalation has caused a high number of civilian deaths and the destruction of homes and livelihoods,” the UN force said, adding: “It is imperative that this escalation ceases immediately.”

It urged “all sides to put down their weapons and begin the process toward a sustainable political and diplomatic solution.”

The UNIFIL said it “remains ready to support that process in any way we can, including by convening a tripartite meeting at the parties’ request.”

Commenting on the incident, the Israeli army claimed that it did not target any UNIFIL vehicle in the Rmeish area in southern Lebanon.

Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.

The border tension comes amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 32,700 people following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi