Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the UN chief on Sunday to move peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon out of "harm's way", saying Hezbollah was using them as "human shields".

His call to UN chief Antonio Guterres came a day after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) repeated its refusal to withdraw from the border area after five of its members were wounded in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

"Mr Secretary General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm's way. It should be done right now, immediately," Netanyahu said in a video statement issued by his office.

Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israeli forces had asked UNIFIL several times to leave, saying that the peacekeepers' presence had "the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields".

"Your refusal to evacuate the UNIFIL soldiers makes them hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers," the premier said.

"We regret the harm to UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing our utmost to prevent such harm. But the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is simply to withdraw them from the danger zone."

UNIFIL has refused to leave its positions in southern Lebanon.

"There was a unanimous decision to stay because it's important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the Security Council," UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP in an interview on Saturday.

He said Israel had asked UNIFIL to withdraw from positions "up to five kilometres (three miles) from the Blue Line" separating both countries, but the peacekeepers refused.

That would have included its 29 positions in south Lebanon.

- 'New chapter' -

UNIFIL, a mission of about 9,500 troops of various nationalities, was created following Israel's 1978 invasion of Lebanon.

It is currently tasked with monitoring a ceasefire that ended a 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah.

Forty contributor nations to UNIFIL said on Saturday that they "strongly condemn recent attacks" on the peacekeepers.

"Such actions must stop immediately and should be adequately investigated," said the joint statement, posted on X by the Polish UN mission and signed by nations including leading contributors Indonesia, Italy and India.

On Sunday, UNIFIL said it had demanded explanations from the Israeli army over what it said were "shocking violations" against their force, including forcing entry into one of their positions.

Earlier on Sunday morning Israeli tanks had "destroyed" a UNIFIL position and "forcibly entered" there, UNIFIL said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati also condemned the Israeli call on UNIFIL to abandon the south.

"The warning that Netanyahu addressed to... Guterres demanding the removal of the UNIFIL represents a new chapter in the enemy's approach of not complying with international" norms, Mikati said.

Earlier, Netanyahu said the criticism of Israel was misplaced and should be directed at Hezbollah.

"Instead of criticising Israel, they should direct their criticism to Hezbollah, which uses UNIFIL as a human shield, just as Hamas in Gaza uses UNRWA as a human shield," he said of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

"Unfortunately, UNRWA also cooperates with Hamas there."

UNRWA has more than 30,000 employees in the Palestinian territories and elsewhere.

It has been in crisis since Israel accused a dozen of its employees of being involved in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

The UN immediately fired the implicated staff members, and a probe found some "neutrality related issues" but stressed Israel had not provided evidence for its main allegations.