A judicial official told Agence France-Presse in Beirut on Wednesday that a mine explosion had injured three UN observers and their translator on Saturday in southern Lebanon, which borders Israel, who accused the Lebanese Hezbollah.
The incident took place in the Rmeich region, against a backdrop of an increase in violence between the Israeli army and the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah in the context of the war in the Gaza Strip.
“The first results of the Lebanese army’s investigation revealed that the observers had been injured by a mine,” said the judicial official who requested anonymity.
“An investigation is being conducted jointly by UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force) and the Lebanese army,” he added, specifying that “military justice was awaiting the final written report to determine responsibilities” .
On Wednesday, Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army’s spokesperson for the Arabic-speaking public, told X that the explosion was the result of a “charge […] planted in the area by Hezbollah,” with whom Israel has been exchanging fire for nearly six months.
The Israeli army assured after the explosion that it had not carried out strikes on the region.
Three observers from UNTSO, the UN body established in 1948 after the first Arab-Israeli war and responsible for monitoring the truce, were injured in the explosion, including a Norwegian and a Chilean who were been hospitalized, according to authorities in both countries. The third is an Australian, according to UNIFIL.
More than 10,000 UNIFIL peacekeepers patrol the “Blue Line”, the demarcation line established by the UN between Lebanon and Israel, to act as a buffer between the two countries and ensure the application of resolution 1701, which stipulates the sole deployment of the Lebanese army and peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
They are supported in this task by UNTSO observers.
“Our preliminary reports show that the explosion was not caused by direct or indirect fire. The investigation is ongoing,” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Agence France-Presse.
A source close to Hezbollah told Agence France-Presse that the group “is certainly not responding to the Israeli accusations,” adding that the matter was now in the hands of “UNIFIL and the army, and that The case is still ongoing “.
UN chief Antonio Guterres expressed “grave concern” about the frequent exchanges of fire along the Blue Line, according to a statement.
At least 349 people have been killed in Lebanon, mainly Hezbollah fighters but also at least 68 civilians, in exchanges of fire at the border for almost six months, according to a count by Agence France-Presse.
In northern Israel, bordering southern Lebanon, ten soldiers and eight civilians were killed according to the army.