Four Italian UNIFIL peacekeepers injured in Lebanon as Argentina withdraws
UNIFIL announced this morning that four peacekeepers in its Italian contingent were injured by two rockets that hit their base in southern Lebanon. The rockets were likely fired by Hezbollah or affiliated groups, UNIFIL said.
Four Italian peacekeepers were injured in southern Lebanon's Chamaa Friday after two rockets hit a base of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon.
UNIFIL said that two 120-mm rockets struck its sector headquarters in Chamaa, which hosts UNIFIL’s Italian contingent. The four peacekeepers are reportedly now receiving treatment at the base’s hospital and none of the injuries are life threatening.
The rockets were “likely launched by Hezbollah or affiliated groups,” said the peacekeeping force. The rockets hit a bunker and a logistics center. One fire was “swiftly extinguished.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melona posted a statement to X on Friday, expressing “deep indignation” over the news. “I reiterate once again that such attacks are unacceptable and I renew my call for the parties on the ground to ensure, at all times, the safety of UNIFIL soldiers,” she wrote.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in a Friday statement that he spoke to his Lebanese counterpart, “reiterating that the Italian contingent of UNIFIL remains in southern Lebanon to offer a window of opportunity for peace and cannot become hostage to attacks by militias.”
Crosetto also said he would try to contact Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. “I will try to speak with the new Israeli minister of defense, which has been impossible since he took office, to ask him to avoid using UNIFIL bases as a shield,” he said.
Italy contributes 1,044 soldiers to the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, making it the second-largest contributor behind Indonesia, which has 1,230 soldiers in the mission. UNIFIL maintains a presence of around 10,150 peacekeepers from 48 countries in southern Lebanon.
UNIFIL has maintained a presence along the Lebanon-Israel border since its establishment in 1978. It is tasked among other things with monitoring the border between Israel and Lebanon, quelling hostility and maintaining peace and security. In 2006, UNIFIL’s mandate and troop capacity were strengthened by UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
This is the third attack on the base in Chamaa this week, UNIFIL said. Since Israel’s invasion of Lebanon on Sept. 30, the peacekeeping force has faced a string of similar attacks by Hezbollah and the Israeli military alike, resulting in more than 25 injuries over the past two months alone. UNIFIL and its contributing members have repeatedly denounced such incidents and called for the protection of the peacekeepers.
Argentina withdraws
On Nov. 19, Argentina announced it was pulling its troops from the UNIFIL mission after another series of incidents were reported. Argentina, which has only three soldiers in the mission, is the only country to have withdrawn its troops since the invasion began.
Despite recent efforts for a cease-fire by the United States, whose envoy Amos Hochstein was in Lebanon and Israel this week, Israel’s campaign in Lebanon has raged on. Just this afternoon, the Israeli military said it had conducted a series of airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs after issuing immediate evacuation orders to Lebanese residents of the suburbs this morning.
Since Oct. 8, 2023, more than 3,583 people have been killed and over 15,000 injured by Israeli military operations in Lebanon. Most of the casualties have occurred since Israel expanded its bombing campaign in the country and began its ground invasion in southern Lebanon on Sept. 30.
The Israeli military has reported that 53 of its troops have been killed in its ground operation in southern Lebanon as of Nov. 21, though the number may be higher. Since Oct. 8, 2023, Hezbollah's cross-border rocket attacks on Israel have killed 72 people, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.
