Members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were wounded this weekend in an explosion initially blamed on Israel in southern Lebanon.
But as often happens in the region, the “powers that be” have since discovered that in fact the blast was caused by a roadside bomb planted in the Rmeish area by Lebanon’s Iranian proxy, Hezbollah.
#عاجل حسب المعلومات المتوفرة لدى جيش الدفاع فالانفجار الذي وقع السبت الماضي (30/3) في #رميش والذي أسفر عن إصابة عدد من عناصر قوات اليونيفيل الدولية ناجم عن تعرض دورية #اليونيفيل لتفجير عبوة ناسفة كان قد زرعها #حزب_الله في هذه المنطقة سابقًا pic.twitter.com/lnK4br5isc
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) April 3, 2024
“According to the information available to the IDF, the explosion that occurred on March 30 in Ramish in which several UNIFIL employees were injured, was caused after their patrol tripped over a bomb that had previously been placed on by Hezbollah in the region,” IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a statement on the X social media platform.
Four UNIFIL personnel were wounded in the attack as they were carrying out a foot patrol, and according to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) the group was not in a vehicle as initially reported. UNTSO said the peacekeepers were hurt after “a shell exploded near their location.”
UNIFIL is the “peacekeeping force” was supposed to enforce the ceasefire agreement that ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, but never did.
“Despite increased tensions, our dedicated peacekeepers persist on the ground,” UNIFIL said in a statement on Tuesday. “We continue to carry out our activities, including patrols, and our essential work with the parties to de-escalate and reduce tension in the area.”
