Get United Nations Peacekeepers Out Of Southern Lebanon: Netanyahu Urges UN Secretary General Guterres

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought the immediate evacuation of United Nations peacekeepers from southern Lebanon, urging UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to take action.

"From here I want to appeal directly to the UN Secretary-General,” Netanyahu said in a video statement in Hebrew about the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) which monitors the Israeli-Lebanese border.

“It is time for you [Guterres] to remove UNIFIL from Hezbollah's strongholds and from the fighting areas,” Netanyahu stated.

He reiterated his call in English, stating, “Mr Secretary General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm's way. It should be done right now, immediately.”

His comments came after two recent incidents where IDF fire hit UNIFIL bases in Lebanon.

On Friday, two UN peacekeepers were injured when Israeli forces struck near their watchtower at UNIFIL’s primary base in Naqoura.

UNIFIL also noted that an Israeli bulldozer damaged barriers at UN positions along the Blue Line, the demarcation between Lebanon and Israel, while tanks had moved close to the area.

Earlier on Thursday, two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured after an Israeli tank fired, causing them to fall from a watchtower.

Israel acknowledged that its troops were active in the region, targeting Hezbollah.

The IDF is currently investigating these events, while European nations and the US have urged Israel to ensure UNIFIL’s safety despite the ongoing military effort to push Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu noted that the IDF had made multiple requests for UNIFIL's evacuation, which were consistently denied.

He argued that leaving the peacekeepers in place effectively turns them into human shields for Hezbollah.

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

While expressing regret over the injuries to UNIFIL personnel, Netanyahu stressed that the best way to prevent further harm is to remove them from the danger zone as soon as possible.

UNIFIL has more than 10,000 personnel, with Italy, France, Malaysia, Indonesia and India among the biggest contributors.

Netanyahu's appeal to Guterres comes hours after Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced that he had already declared Guterres as a “persona non grata and barred him from entering Israel due to his failure to condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel, as well as his antisemitic and anti-Israel conduct".

Israel has had a tense relationship with Guterres, which has only grown worse since 7 October last year, when Hamas terrorists attacked Southern Israel, killing over 1,200 people.

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