At least two Malaysian 'blue helmets' belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been injured following an attack registered in the vicinity of a logistical convoy of the mission in the town of Haris, in the south of the country, as confirmed by the UN, which for now has not attributed responsibility for the incident.
The spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, has detailed that both 'blue helmets' sustained "minor" injuries and has pointed out that two mission vehicles suffered material damage. "The convoy returned to a nearby UNIFIL base, where the 'blue helmets' are receiving treatment. They are stable," he indicated.
Dujarric added that UNIFIL, which has not yet issued an official statement on what happened, "will investigate the incident," and also denounced that during Wednesday, an Israeli tank opened fire "near" another convoy of the peacekeeping force in the vicinity of Bint Jbeil. On the same day, 'blue helmets' detected "significant drone activity" in the Baydá area.
"Two of the drones fell in the area, including one directly in front of a UNIFIL position. There were NO damages to UN facilities or injuries among our personnel," stressed the spokesperson, who underlined that "all these incidents are unacceptable."
These events occur one week after the death of a Serbian 'blue helmet' in a mortar attack on a peacekeeping position near the Lebanese town of Marjayoun, also in the south, a bombing that also left two Spanish soldiers injured.
The latest large-scale hostilities began on March 2, when Hezbollah launched projectiles against Israeli territory in response to the assassination of the then supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the offensive initiated on February 28 by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.
Previously, the parties had agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024, after thirteen months of clashes triggered by the attacks of October 7, 2023. However, since then Israel has maintained recurrent attacks in Lebanese territory and the presence of troops in several points, alleging operations against Hezbollah, while Beirut and the Shiite group have repeatedly denounced these actions.