<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Government of Spain has “strongly” condemned this Thursday the shots fired by the Israeli Army against the headquarters of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqura, which have injured two blue helmets.</strong></h4> In a statement, the Government “demands that the parties respect the UNIFIL troops”, whose “security must be guaranteed”, and warns that “attacks on peacekeeping operations are a very serious violation of International Humanitarian Law and Security Council Resolution 1701”, which establishes the UNIFIL mandate. For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, warned through the social network X that “Israel has the obligation to protect the United Nations peacekeeping forces” and assured that the Spanish soldiers of the mission “are well”. On September 27, Albares met in New York with the UN Assistant Secretary General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, with whom he spoke about the situation in Lebanon and about UNIFIL, with special attention to the role of the Spanish contingent in this mission, at a time of “extreme gravity”. Spain has been participating in the mission since 2006 with some 650 soldiers integrated into Operation Libre Hidalgo, most of them stationed in Marjayoun, in the southeast of Lebanon. Since 2022, Spanish Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro has been in command of the international contingent, in which more than 10,500 blue helmets from 40 countries are deployed. This past Wednesday, Albares assured during a press conference in Madrid that the Ministry of Defense is in “permanent” contact with the Spanish troops and that they “are well and have high morale.” UNIFIL reported this Thursday, through a press release, that two members of the mission were injured after an Israeli Army Merkava tank fired at an observation tower at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, “hitting it directly and causing it to fall.” “Fortunately,” the injuries are not serious, but the two soldiers remain hospitalized. According to the mission, the recent escalation of clashes between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah along the Blue Line is causing “widespread destruction of towns and villages in southern Lebanon,” while “rocket fire continues towards Israel, including civilian areas.” “In recent days we have seen Israeli incursions into Lebanon in Naqoura and other areas and Israeli soldiers have clashed with Hezbollah elements in Lebanon,” it added. The UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura and nearby positions “have been repeatedly attacked,” the mission added, reminding “the Israeli Army and all actors of their obligation to ensure the safety of United Nations personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of United Nations premises at all times.” “UNIFIL peacekeepers are present in southern Lebanon to support the restoration of stability under the mandate of the Security Council” and therefore “any deliberate attack against peacekeepers is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and Security Council resolution 1701,” it warned. On the other hand, the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, has warned that “another line has been dangerously crossed in Lebanon: bombings by the Israel Defense Forces against the UN, whose positions are known.” This is “an inadmissible act for which there is no justification whatsoever,” continued Borrell, who reiterated the EU’s support for the blue helmets in Lebanon. The Italian Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, has urgently summoned the Israeli ambassador to Italy after the attack against UNIFIL. The mission has about 1,200 Italian soldiers in its ranks.
