Israeli armed forces have been involved in three "incidents" with UN naval peacekeepers under German command off the coast of Lebanon, a spokesman for Germany's armed forces said on Friday.

The spokesman confirmed a report from the Rheinische Post daily due to appear in the paper's Saturday edition which stated several Israeli fighter jets made an approach towards the German frigate Niedersachsen off the Lebanese coast on Wednesday.

The paper added that on April 30 the Niedersachsen had signalled it was "ready for combat" on board when an Israeli speedboat approached the vessel travelling at around 30 knots without initially identifying itself.

One day earlier, Israeli forces approached a Swedish speedboat that was also part of the UN group, it added.

The German spokesman gave no further details.

A series of incidents in October between German UN peacekeepers and Israeli armed forces in the region prompted Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to apologise for what he described as the "misunderstandings" that had occurred.