Israeli army acknowledges targeting a UN site in Lebanon

The Israeli military acknowledged on Wednesday that its tank fire struck a United Nations site in southern Lebanon on March 6, injuring peacekeepers from Ghana, in an incident highlighting the growing risks amid the expansion of Israeli operations.

A Western military source told Reuters on Tuesday that preliminary findings from an internal United Nations investigation indicated that Israel was responsible for the attack.

The United Nations peacekeeping force, known as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel, an area considered a flashpoint between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

In comments to Reuters, the Israeli military acknowledged responsibility for the incident but stated that it was responding to anti-tank missile fire from Hezbollah, which had wounded two Israeli soldiers moderately.

On Monday, the Israeli military launched a “limited ground operation” in southern Lebanon as part of its conflict with Hezbollah, a war that has displaced more than one million people in Lebanon, according to authorities.

Since the start of the conflict on March 2, Israeli strikes have killed 912 people, including 111 children, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. More than one million people have registered as displaced, with over 130,000 currently housed in more than 600 collective shelters.