UN says Israeli tank rammed peacekeeper vehicles in south Lebanon

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) says Israeli forces rammed its vehicles twice on Sunday, causing significant damage in at least one attack.

In a statement, Unifil said an Israeli Merkava tank struck clearly marked peacekeeping vehicles during the encounters.

“Over the past week, Israeli soldiers have fired ‘warning shots’ in the area, striking and damaging clearly identifiable Unifil vehicles. In one case, a ‘warning shot’ landed a metre away from a peacekeeper who had dismounted his vehicle”.

The mission said Israeli troops have also obstructed its patrols, reporting that forces “have continually blocked peacekeepers’ movements on this road in recent days”.

It added, “since early April, Israeli soldiers have also destroyed force protection cameras in UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters and five other positions on the Blue Line from Ras Naqoura to Maroun ar Ras”.

Unifil said Israeli personnel further restricted visibility at its headquarters, noting that soldiers spray-painted the pedestrian gate windows on Saturday, “denying visibility to the external perimeter”.