Two soldiers in the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) were reportedly wounded Thursday by fire from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops, as the Israeli soldiers were firing at Hezbollah terrorists near a UN base.
UNIFIL is supposed to keep Hezbollah out of the area, and remove all unauthorized weapons from the area, under several United Nations Security Council resolutions, including 1701 (2006). It has failed in its mission for decades.
On UNIFIL’s watch, Hezbollah turned southern Lebanon into a military zone and used it to attack Jewish and Arab civilian communities in northern Israel, as well as to prepare for an ambitious invasion of Israel’s Galilee region.
In a statement, the IDF did not deny that UNIFIL troops had been injured, but explained that Hezbollah deliberately positions itself near UNIFIL posts, and also noted that the IDF had notified UNIFIL troops to take cover at the time.
The IDF said:
The Hezbollah terrorist organization operates from within and near civilian areas in southern Lebanon, including areas near UNIFIL posts.
The IDF is operating in southern Lebanon and maintains routine communication with UNIFIL.
This morning (Thursday), IDF troops operated in the area of Naqoura, next to a UNIFIL base. Accordingly, the IDF instructed the UN forces in the area to remain in protected spaces, following which the forces opened fire in the area.
The IDF has been taking over Hezbollah-run villages near the border and removing weapons stockpiled there. It is also destroying tunnels and rocket launchers set up over the past two decades by Hezbollah, with Iranian backing.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
