UNIFIL—Israeli tanks fire on UN peacekeepers in South Lebanon

Israeli Merkava tanks have today fired on UNIFIL—the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon—according to the United Nations.

UNIFIL releases a statement

A UNIFIL statement reveals that the peacekeepers were on foot patrol near their base and had to scramble for cover after tank-mounted heavy machine-guns targeted their position. No soldiers were injured, but UNIFIL described the incident as a “serious violation” of UN Security Council Resolutions.

This represents a serious violation of Security Council resolution 1701.

Yet again, we call on the IDF to cease any aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers, who are working to support the return to the stability that both Israel and Lebanon say they seek.

— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) November 16, 2025

The attack took place two days after UNIFIL publicly condemned Israel’s construction of a ‘border wall’ inside Lebanese territory, north of the UN-mandated ‘Blue Line’ that serves as a border between the two countries—which is also a breach of Resolution 1701 and a violation of Lebanon’s territory and sovereignty.

UNIFIL has demanded that the Israeli military respect the Blue Line and withdraw from Lebanese territory. However, Israeli newspapers are already running ads offering the stolen Lebanese land for sale to extremist settler groups.

Israel’s attack on United Nations troops in Lebanon is anything but a one-off. In October, UNIFIL condemned two Israeli grenade attacks on its troops and in May this year, Israeli forces struck a UN position near Kfar Chouba.

In October last year, Israel repeatedly attacked a UNIFIL base in southern Lebanon using tanks and chemical weapons—to complete silence from the UK government of Keir Starmer—a day after Irish UNIFIL troops successfully faced down an Israeli attempt to force them from their posts.

Two weeks later, Israeli tanks fired laser-guided missiles at a UN lookout tower, then two weeks after that Israel bombed a UNIFIL checkpoint, killing at least three people and wounding at least six Malaysian UNIFIL troops.

Israel has been repeatedly bombing civilians in southern Lebanon to carve out further territory for itself and clearly regards the presence of the UN troops as an inconvenience, if not an impediment, to its land theft.

Featured image via United Nations Peacekeeping