<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The 'Guzmán El Bueno' Brigade, based in Córdoba, will replace, from this Thursday, the 'Aragón' Brigade at the head of the Spanish contingent in the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a change that comes at a time of maximum tension due to the military offensive of the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu to combat the Shiite militias of Hezbollah and the repeated Israeli attacks against the headquarters of the mission.</strong></h4> The relief of the ‘Aragón’ Brigade, which has been in Lebanon for just over six months, will be carried out in stages in three rotations starting this Thursday. The members of the ‘Guzmán El Bueno’ Brigade will be installed in the ‘Miguel de Cervantes’ base, headquarters of the Spanish contingent, “where they will continue their commitment to peace and security in our country, within the framework of the UNIFIL mission,” the Ministry of Defense reported this Wednesday in a press release. The contingent that is now taking over is made up of some 600 soldiers under the command of General Fernando Ruiz Gómez. Most of them come from units of the BRI X, Armored Regiment ‘Córdoba’ 10, Infantry Regiment ‘La Reina’ 2, Infantry Regiment ‘Garellano’ 45, GACA X (Self-Propelled Field Artillery Group), Logistics Group X, Sapper Battalion X and Headquarters Battalion X. In addition, it has the support of a logistics unit belonging to the AALOG 21 of Seville, and personnel from other units of the Army, among which are cited for providing capabilities, the NBQ (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) Defense Regiment “Valencia” 1, the 21st and 22nd Transmission Regiments, the ROI (Information Operations Regiment) and the AGRUSAN 1 (Health Group), Armed Forces and the Civil Guard, to which are added military personnel from the armies of Brazil, Serbia and El Salvador. Spain's participation in UNIFIL began in September 2006, as part of Operation Libre Hidalgo, deploying its military in southern Lebanon with the aim of contributing to the implementation of United Nations Resolution 1701. Since then, according to the Ministry of Defense, the Spanish Armed Forces have played "a fundamental role in maintaining peace in the region," leading the Eastern Sector of the mission from the Miguel de Cervantes base, located near the town of Marjayoun, in southeastern Lebanon. The Spanish deployment has focused on patrolling and monitoring the separation line between Israel and Lebanon, in coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces. Patrols are carried out both on foot and in vehicles, with the aim of preventing violations of the truce and avoiding tensions between the parties turning into clashes. The Spanish contingent in UNIFIL is one of the largest currently, with 669 soldiers assigned to various tasks within the mission. In addition to patrols, Spanish troops are present at the mission's command posts in Naqoura, where the force's headquarters are located and where Spain also has several key positions assigned to Army officers and non-commissioned officers. 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. On October 30, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, met in New York with the Deputy Secretary General of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, with whom he discussed, among other issues, the situation of UNIFIL. Albares held a previous meeting with Lacroix, also in New York, at the end of September, on the sidelines of the High Level Week of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Since then, the situation has worsened with the escalation of the Israeli military intervention in Lebanon and the successive attacks by the Hebrew army against the headquarters of the mission in Naqoura. On October 15, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, called an emergency meeting with the countries contributing troops to UNIFIL to discuss the situation on the ground following the Israeli attacks. Two days earlier, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, demanded that Guterres withdraw UNIFIL, considering that its troops have become “human shields” for the Shiite militias of Hezbollah.
