Three United Nations military observers and a Lebanese interpreter were wounded Saturday while patrolling the southern Lebanese border after a shell exploded near them, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said.
The military observers are part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which supports the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL.
The UNIFIL statement said the targeting of peacekeepers is "unacceptable."
Local Lebanese media, citing security officials, said an Israeli drone strike targeted the observers in the southern village of Wadi Katmoun near the border town of Rmeish.
Two security sources had also told Reuters the observers were wounded in an Israeli strike but the Israeli military denied striking in the area.
"Contrary to the reports, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) did not strike a UNIFIL vehicle in the area of Rmeish this morning," the military said.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the incident in a statement.
The mayor of Rmeish, Milad Alam, told Reuters that he had spoken with the Lebanese translator and confirmed his condition was stable.
"From Rmeish, we heard a blast and then saw a UNIFIL car zipping by. The foreign observers were taken to hospitals in Tyre and Beirut by helicopter and car," Milad said, without providing details on their condition.
One of the observers was a Norwegian citizen, who was lightly injured, the Nordic country's defense ministry told Reuters. Lebanon's National News Agency said the other two wounded observers were Chilean and Australian.
