Lebanon Accuses Israel of Targeting UN Peacekeepers at Border

UNIFIL Spokesman to Asharq Al-Awsat: Peacekeepers Were Taken Off-Guard

26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfra Shouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfar Shouba. (dpa)
26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfra Shouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfar Shouba. (dpa)
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Lebanon Accuses Israel of Targeting UN Peacekeepers at Border

26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfra Shouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfar Shouba. (dpa)
26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfra Shouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfar Shouba. (dpa)

Three United Nations observers and a translator were wounded on Saturday when a shell exploded near them as they were carrying out a foot patrol in south Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping mission said, adding it was still investigating the origin of the blast.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), as well as unarmed technical observers known as UNTSO, are stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, known as the Blue Line.

Two security sources had earlier told Reuters the observers were wounded in an Israeli strike outside the border town of Rmeish.

A Lebanese security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel was behind the attack.

The source said the attack was carried out by a direct strike or an artillery shell. It added that such attacks "don’t happen by accident."

Tel Aviv has denied involvement. "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 in a statement.

UNIFIL did not pin blame on any side. Its spokesperson, Andrea Tenenti said three OGL (UNTSO) military observers and one Lebanese language assistant on a foot patrol along the Blue Line were injured when an explosion occurred near their location.

They were evacuated for medical treatment. OGL (UNTSO) observers support UNIFIL in implementing its mandate, he explained in a statement.

"We are investigating the origin of the explosion," he continued.

"Safety and security of UN personnel must be guaranteed. All actors have a responsibility under international humanitarian law to ensure protection to non-combatants, including peacekeepers, journalists, medical personnel, and civilians," Tenenti added.

"We repeat our call for all actors to cease the current heavy exchanges of fire before more people are unnecessarily hurt," he stressed.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Tenenti said the wounded were in stable condition even though one was severely injured.

He revealed that the peacekeepers who were wounded did not receive prior warning and were taken off-guard.

He vowed that a full investigation will be held, saying no direct information was available yet to make accusations.

Given how dangerous the incident was, all facts must be verified before reaching conclusions, he went on to say.

In line with UN Security Council resolution 1701, the results of technical probes carried out by UNIFIL are shared with the concerned parties and not revealed. Dozens of probes have been carried out since October 7, he said.

The aim is to stop the escalation, stressed the spokesperson.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke with UNIFIL commander Aroldo Lozaro, condemning the "targeting" and wounding of UN staff in southern Lebanon, according to a statement from Mikati's office.

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.

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.

Israel's shelling of Lebanon has killed nearly 270 Hezbollah fighters, but has also killed around 50 civilians - including children, medics and journalists - and hit both UNIFIL and the Lebanese army.

UNIFIL last month said that the Israeli military violated international law by firing on a group of clearly identifiable journalists, killing Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah.

The UN's Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, said in a statement that she was "saddened" to learn of the injuries and that the incident served as "another reminder of the urgent need to return to a cessation of hostilities across the Blue Line".

The US and other countries have sought to secure a diplomatic resolution to the exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah said it will not halt fire before a ceasefire is implemented in Gaza.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the explosion and called for the safety of peacekeepers to be ensured, according to a statement from UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

"These hostile actions have not only disrupted the livelihoods of thousands of people, but they also pose a grave threat to the security and stability of Lebanon, Israel, and the region," Dujarric said.



Survivors, Bodies Recovered from Capsized Red Sea Tourist Boat

25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)
25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)
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Survivors, Bodies Recovered from Capsized Red Sea Tourist Boat

25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)
25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)

Rescuers on Tuesday recovered five survivors and four bodies from a dive boat that capsized off Egypt's eastern coast a day earlier, Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi said.  

A military-led team rescued two Belgians, one Swiss national, one Finnish tourist and one Egyptian, the governor said, bringing the total number of survivors from the accident to 33.  

The "Sea Story" had been carrying 31 tourists of multiple nationalities and a 13-member crew when it was hit by a large wave near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt early on Monday, causing it to capsize.

The four bodies recovered on Tuesday have not yet been identified, and eight people are still missing after 28 were rescued on Monday.

A government source close to rescue operations said the five survivors were found on Tuesday morning inside the boat, which the governor said had been thrown on its side by an early morning wave but had not completely sunk.  

The group had spent at least 24 hours in the overturned vessel after authorities first received distress calls at 5:30 AM (0330 GMT) on Monday.  

"Rescue operations are ongoing today, supported by a military helicopter and a frigate in addition to multiple divers," the Red Sea governor told AFP Tuesday, declining to provide any further details about the operation.  

The four bodies recovered on Tuesday were also located inside the stricken vessel.  

The boat had embarked on a multi-day diving trip on Sunday and had been due to dock on Friday at the town of Hurghada, 200 kilometers (124 miles) north.  

The governor on Monday said it capsized "suddenly and quickly within 5-7 minutes" of the impact with the wave, leaving some passengers -- among them European, Chinese and American tourists -- unable to set out of their cabins in time.  

- Still missing -  

Rescuers from the military and a passing tourist boat pulled 28 people from the water on Monday.  

According to a source at a hospital in Marsa Alam, six tourists and three Egyptians were admitted with minor injuries and discharged on Monday.   

According to the governor's office, the boat was carrying tourists from Belgium, Britain, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.  

Among the missing are two Polish tourists and one from Finland, according to both countries' foreign ministries.  

Authorities in Egypt have said the vessel was fully licensed and had passed all inspection checks. A preliminary investigation showed no technical fault.  

There were at least two similar boat accidents in the Marsa Alam area earlier this year, but no fatalities.  

The Red Sea coast is a major tourist destination in Egypt, a country of 107 million that is in the grip of a serious economic crisis.  

Nationally, the tourism sector employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of its GDP.  

Dozens of dive boats crisscross between Red Sea coral reefs and islands off Egypt's eastern coast every day, where safety regulations are robust but unevenly enforced.