Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said Thursday Israel was focused on fighting Lebanon’s Hezbollah and recommends "UNIFIL relocate 5 km (3 miles) north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies.”
Reuters reported last week that the Israeli military had sent a message asking UN peacekeepers to prepare to move "as soon as possible, in order to maintain your safety.”
Danon added that "Israel has no desire to be in Lebanon, but it will do what is necessary" to drive Hezbollah away from its northern border so 70,000 displaced residents can return to their homes in northern Israel.
Israeli forces fired on positions used by the UN peacekeepers on Wednesday and Thursday, the UN force said, as Israel warned Lebanese civilians not to return to homes in the south and pursued a widening offensive against Hezbollah.
The UNIFIL force said two of its peacekeepers were injured in one of the incidents when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the force's main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura, hitting the tower and causing them to fall. There were no casualties in the other two incidents, a UN source said.
"Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law," UNIFIL said in a statement, adding that it was following up with the Israeli military.
