Four United Nations peacekeeping personnel from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were wounded Saturday morning by a shell explosion near them during a foot patrol in the village of Rmaich.
UNIFIL said it was investigating the source of the explosion after Hezbollah-affiliated media in Lebanon accused Israel of carrying out the attack. The IDF promptly rejected the allegations.
UNIFIL further said that attacking peacekeeping forces is "unacceptable," emphasizing that "the security of UN personnel must be preserved. All parties have a responsibility to protect them in accordance with international law."
The incident occurred in a Christian village which has become a flashpoint between locals and Hezbollah operatives this week.
Hezbollah’s Al Manar network claimed that a drone attacked a UNIFIL vehicle in the southern Lebanese village of Rmaich. Shortly thereafter, the Lebanese network Al Mayadeen, also known as a Hezbollah mouthpiece, reported that the UNIFIL team attacked in southern Lebanon included Spanish and Norwegian members who were transferred to the city of Tyre for treatment.
Among the injured was reportedly a Lebanese national working as a translator. The Lebanese network NBN published a different report regarding the identity of the team members, stating that the injured in the attack were Australians, one of whom is in critical condition.
Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, also closely linked with Hezbollah, quoted a security source as saying that "a preliminary investigation indicated that the team members felt they were being followed by a drone, so they exited the vehicle and dispersed before the missile struck them."
The newspaper also reported that one of the team members was severely injured and was airlifted to a hospital in Beirut.
The IDF flatly rejected the allegations Israel was behind the attack, saying, "Contrary to reports, the IDF did not attack a UNIFIL vehicle in the Rmaich area this morning."