Spain 'strongly condemns' Israeli fire on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

LONDON

Spain on Thursday strongly condemned Israeli army fire on the positions of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon that injured two peacekeepers.

"The Government of Spain strongly condemns the Israeli shots that have hit the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqura, wounding two blue helmets," said a Foreign Ministry statement.

It stressed Spain demands the parties respect UNIFIL troops and that their safety must be guaranteed.

"Attacks on peacekeeping operations are a very serious violation of International Humanitarian Law and Security Council Resolution 1701," it said.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said earlier that its headquarters in Naqoura and other sites have been repeatedly shelled by Israeli forces, leaving two peacekeepers injured.

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,323 people, injuring over 3,700 others, and displacing more than 1.2 million.

The aerial campaign is an escalation in a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv’s brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 42,000 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.