Israel has violated the UN Security Council resolution ending the 2006 Second Lebanon War as well as Beirut’s sovereignty, UNIFIL said.
In a series of X/Twitter posts on Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said an Israeli drone came close to a UNIFIL patrol operating near Kfar Fila and dropped a grenade.
“Moments later, an Israeli tank fired a shot towards the peacekeepers. Fortunately, no injury or damage was caused to the UNIFIL peacekeepers and assets,” it wrote.
UNIFIL said these actions “show disregard for the safety and security of the peacekeepers implementing Security Council-mandated tasks in southern Lebanon,” which it said violates Resolution 1701 and Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The IDF has not yet commented.
UNIFIL, which has been operating on Lebanon’s southern border since 1978, is set to begin a year-long withdrawal at the end of 2026.
The US announced it will also halt support to the organization by that time, citing a “radically different” security environment than just one year ago and placing more responsibility on the Lebanese government for security concerns.
A second incident?
The UN organization also cited earlier incidents of Israeli drones flying over UNIFIL patrols in an “aggressive manner,” stating that “the peacekeepers applied necessary defensive countermeasures to neutralize the drone.”
In early September, the IDF mistakenly sent drones to drop grenades near UNIFIL posts after believing they were Hezbollah forces.
UNIFIL also condemned the attacks at the time, stating that “this is one of the most serious attacks on UNIFIL personnel and assets since the cessation of hostilities agreement of last November.”
The IDF sent a clarification to UNIFIL, saying it would never intentionally target UNIFIL forces.