UNIFIL patrol comes under fire in southern Lebanon

Meanwhile, a United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol has come under fire in southern Lebanon, the force remarked.

Key points

• UNIFIL is a peacekeeping mission established by the UN Security Council in March 1978, days after Israel invaded Lebanon.
• The UN Security Council last year voted, under US pressure, to end UNIFIL's mandate on December 31, 2026.
• The foreign ministers backed "the need to move quickly toward a new security architecture", Barrot remarked after the group met in Paris.
• Nevertheless, the French foreign minister acknowledged that there had been no breakthrough regarding replacing UNIFIL.
• We reiterate the obligation under international law for all actors to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property at all times.

UNIFIL remarked on Tuesday that "about a dozen rounds" were fired at one of its patrols near Wadi Jilu, in Lebanon's Tyre district, without specifying the entity behind the shooting.

After which the shooting halted, the patrol returned fire. UNIFIL documented no casualties and called on an investigation.

"We reiterate the obligation under international law for all actors to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property at all times. Deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and international humanitarian law, " UNIFIL remarked.

In practice, the force has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon ever since, but its presence has been unable to prevent a number of rounds of conflict, including the latest between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel continues to occupy swaths of southern Lebanon, despite a so-called ceasefire and a US-brokered framework agreement through which the Israeli military would withdraw from those areas and the Lebanese army would move in to disarm Hezbollah.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot remarked on Tuesday that the G7 foreign ministers agreed on "the need to avoid a security void" in Lebanon after the UNIFIL mandate expires at the end of 2026.

For context, the foreign ministers backed "the need to move quickly toward a new security architecture", Barrot remarked after the group met in Paris.

Nevertheless, the French foreign minister acknowledged that there had been no breakthrough regarding replacing UNIFIL. It comprises some 7, 500 personnel from almost 50 countries.

In practice, the UN Security Council last year voted, under US pressure, to end UNIFIL's mandate on December 31, 2026. Lebanese authorities have called on the mandate to be extended.

In short, UNIFIL patrol comes under fire in southern Lebanon is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.