Peacekeeping Chief: UN Positions in Lebanon Risk Being 'Occupied'

A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
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Peacekeeping Chief: UN Positions in Lebanon Risk Being 'Occupied'

A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher

The UN peacekeeping chief said Friday that the blue helmet force in Lebanon will hold its line despite facing attacks in recent weeks, adding that its positions would be "occupied" if it left.
More than 10,000 peacekeepers with the UNIFIL mission have been stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978 and are tasked with monitoring the "Blue Line" of demarcation with Israel.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, under secretary-general for peace operations, said that "UNIFIL peacekeepers are staying, they're holding their line, and they're determined to continue doing what they're mandated to do."
He said the force had rejected an Israeli request that it move five kilometers from the Blue Line.
"First of all, because there is a mandate... we are duty born to the mandate, the peacekeepers need to stay," Lacroix said in an interview with the UN Information Service.
"Second, because we thought that if those positions along the Blue Line are abandoned, then they would likely be occupied by one party or the other. That would be very bad for many reasons, including the perception of impartiality and neutrality of the United Nations," he added.
On Wednesday, a UNIFIL spokesman said the force had recorded more than 30 incidents in October resulting in property damage or injury to peacekeepers, about 20 of them from Israeli fire or action.
Israel is fighting a two-front war, against Iran-backed Hezbollah -- in fighting that has included Israeli forces invading Lebanon -- and against Hamas in Gaza.
The current conflict was triggered by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.



Berlin Calls on Israel to Boost Aid Access to ‘Desperate’ North Gaza

Palestinian children walk among garbage at a landfill as they collect plastic, amid a shortage of cooking gas and fuel, at the Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, 04 November 2024. (EPA)
Palestinian children walk among garbage at a landfill as they collect plastic, amid a shortage of cooking gas and fuel, at the Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, 04 November 2024. (EPA)
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Berlin Calls on Israel to Boost Aid Access to ‘Desperate’ North Gaza

Palestinian children walk among garbage at a landfill as they collect plastic, amid a shortage of cooking gas and fuel, at the Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, 04 November 2024. (EPA)
Palestinian children walk among garbage at a landfill as they collect plastic, amid a shortage of cooking gas and fuel, at the Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, 04 November 2024. (EPA)

Germany calls on Israel to let more humanitarian aid into north Gaza, where a lack of supplies has led to a "desperate" and "unbearable" situation, a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said on Monday.

"We call on the Israeli government urgently to meet its responsibilities under international law," the spokesperson told a regular news conference in Berlin.

"Israel has the right to self-defense against Hamas within the framework of humanitarian international law," he added.

The spokesperson was responding to a question about an ultimatum set by Washington for Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza this month or face potential restrictions on US military aid.