Israel Military Accuses Hizbullah of Injuring UN Peacekeepers With Roadside Bomb
The Israeli military on Wednesday accused Hizbullah of being behind a recent explosion that wounded a group of United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. The incident, which occurred in the town of Rmeish on Saturday, was initially attributed to Israel by Lebanese officials, sparking international concern. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) asserted that no strikes had been conducted in the Rmeish area around the time of the March 30 incident.
This statement came after Hizbullah-linked media and sources told Reuters that the IDF had executed a drone strike targeting a vehicle carrying four UN employees. Contradicting these reports, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, revealed on the social media platform X that the injuries were caused by “an explosive device that had been planted by Hizbullah in the area.”
The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) provided further details, stating that the four observers were on a foot patrol, not in a vehicle, as initially suggested by some reports. According to UNTSO, the peacekeepers sustained injuries following the detonation of a shell near their location.
The backdrop to this incident is a series of cross-border skirmishes between Israel and Hizbullah, which have intensified since the onset of the war in Gaza. Hizbullah has launched near-daily attacks on Israeli towns and military installations, declaring its actions as support for the Hamas-led conflict in Gaza.
Hizbullah has reported 266 of its members killed in the skirmishes, with casualties mostly in Lebanon but also in Syria. Additionally, 50 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and at least 60 civilians, including three journalists, have fallen victim to the conflict. Meanwhile, eight civilian casualties have been reported on the Israeli side, along with the deaths of 10 IDF soldiers and reservists.
