Austrian UN troops injured in escalating Lebanon tensions
Eight Austrian UN peacekeeping soldiers in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured in a rocket attack on the town of An-Nakura in the south of the country. This marks another instance where Israeli forces have targeted a peacekeeping observation point.
7:58 PM EDT, October 29, 2024
The rocket struck the An-Nakura camp near the border with Israel. Tel Aviv has increased its attacks on Hezbollah strongholds since last month and has deployed ground forces into Lebanon.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg stated that the injured soldiers did not require immediate medical attention. He also condemned all attacks on UN forces, emphasizing that "they cannot be tolerated."
The party responsible for the attack on An-Nakura has not yet been identified.
"All sides are urged to immediately ensure the safety of all UN peacekeeping forces. It cannot and will not be tolerated for UN peacekeeping forces to be deliberately or inadvertently put in danger," urged the head of Austrian diplomacy.
Attacks on UN observation points: The situation is "extremely dangerous"
Last Friday, UN peacekeeping forces reported that Israeli soldiers fired at one of their observation points in southern Lebanon, adding that the security situation is "extremely difficult" due to other unidentified attacks.
UNIFIL, initially established in 1978, consists of approximately 10,000 peacekeeping soldiers from 50 countries. The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon operates in the south of the country, monitoring the situation in the border region and supporting stabilization efforts.
