UN Peacekeepers Attacked by Civilians in Lebanon, No Casualties Reported

FILE PHOTO: UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
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UN Peacekeepers Attacked by Civilians in Lebanon, No Casualties Reported

FILE PHOTO: UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo

A large group of civilians wielding metal rods and axes attacked a patrol of UN troops in southern Lebanon on Friday, causing damage to UN vehicles but no injuries, a United Nations peacekeeping force said.

The UN troops used non-lethal force to protect themselves and those present, according to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), adding the patrol had been on a routine operation between the villages of Jmayjmeh and Khirbat Silim.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were notified and arrived shortly after the incident, escorting the patrol back to base, Reuters said.

UNIFIL said the patrol had been pre-planned and coordinated with the LAF.

The UN peacekeeping mission stressed that its mandate, under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, guarantees freedom of movement in its area of operations with or without LAF accompaniment.

On Wednesday, UNIFIL said that direct fire from the Israeli army had hit the perimeter of one of its peacekeeping positions in south Lebanon. UNIFIL said the incident on Tuesday was the first of its kind since Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last November.



Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 72 people in the Palestinian territory on Thursday, including 21 who had gathered to receive aid in central and southern Gaza.

Updating an earlier figure, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the death toll had risen to 72, "due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip since dawn today -- 21 of them were waiting for aid.”

The Israeli army told AFP that troops had fired "warning shots" at "suspects" approaching them in the Netzarim area where the civil defense agency said 15 people were killed waiting for aid, but that it was "not aware of any injured individuals.”