Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officials on Tuesday accused peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of ignoring ceasefire violations by Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened a “strong response” after Hezbollah fired a projectile at an Israeli military camp.
israeli official said On Monday, Hezbollah shelled Mount Dov near the border between Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. Hezbollah said the shots were fired as a “defensive and warning response” to “repeated ceasefire violations” by Israeli forces.
Israel has carried out at least four airstrikes and one artillery shelling against positions in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire began last Thursday, ostensibly to neutralize “threats against Israeli civilians.”
“Hezbollah's firing on Mount Dov is a serious violation of the ceasefire, to which Israel will react strongly,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.
“We are determined to continue the ceasefire and respond to any violations, minor or major, by Hezbollah,” he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz added that Hezbollah's violations would be met with a “stern response.”
Israel has long complained that UNIFIL does not do enough to monitor Hezbollah's illegal activities in southern Lebanon. FOX NEWS MONDAY quotation Testimony from IDF soldiers who were surprised at how much UNIFIL was willing to ignore wrongdoing:
A documentary filmed in the village of Houla in southern Lebanon in the weeks before the ceasefire shows Israeli reservists moving carefully from house to house, clearing rooms as they move through Hezbollah strongholds. Ta. Suddenly gunfire erupted and the troops were forced to evacuate as Hezbollah terrorists opened fire from nearby houses. As bullets tore through the air, the fighting intensified, but the soldiers were stunned by an unexpected sight. It turned out that a UNIFIL convoy drove directly into the gunfight.
A white UN vehicle crossed the road separating Israeli soldiers from Hezbollah fighters and came to a halt amid smoke and confusion. UNIFIL peacekeepers step outside, seemingly oblivious to the deadly battle raging around them. “It was a complete surprise. The IDF soldiers were shocked,” said Itai Angel, an Israeli journalist with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). “The timing of the convoy's arrival and its route led soldiers to suspect a link to Hezbollah.”
Angel, a veteran war reporter for the Israeli TV program Uvda, described the strange scene. “This was not the first time I came to Houla. I recorded the fighting here 18 years ago during the Second Lebanon War, but this time it was even worse,” he said. “Every second or third village was loaded with weapons such as RPGs, rockets and tunnels, all intended to raid Israeli villages just a few kilometers away.”
Angel told Fox News that IDF soldiers have little trust in U.N. peacekeeping operations and are convinced that Lebanese villages will quickly become Hezbollah's munitions dumps once Israeli forces leave. Ta.
Other IDF officers mixed vehicles into convoys, installed cameras inside the compound, pitched tents right next to the UN fence, and even dug terrorist tunnels within yards of the UN base. He said he saw UNIFIL turning a blind eye to Hezbollah forces.
“Everyone played the game and knew Hezbollah was there, roaming freely among them, and nothing was done,” said one Israeli soldier.
UNIFIL's response to these criticisms was that UNIFIL had no obligation or authority to: force UN resolutions have failed spectacularly to keep Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon. UN staff were simply supposed to do this. support Lebanon and Israel were policing Hezbollah.
The UN spokesperson argued that the period from 2006 to 2023 should be seen as a success, as Hezbollah had stockpiled large amounts of ammunition right under UNIFIL's nose, but hardly used it.
After the October 7 atrocities by Hamas, Israel saw this as cause for celebration, as Hezbollah had a large number of rocket launchers, mortars, tunnels and fortified bunkers ready to attack Israel. I have no intention of doing so.
The IDF could not help but notice that hundreds of Hezbollah attacks were launched from very close to UNIFIL bases, but two Three of them were condemned by the United Nations as illegal acts by Hezbollah.
As Netanyahu's critics point out, this history has frightening connections to the ceasefire debate. assume The Lebanese government, which is politically dominated by Hezbollah, will keep Hezbollah weapons out of the same areas that should never have been militarized in the first place. The IDF has already said it is doing so. I got caught Hezbollah has been involved in illegal activities that smuggle weapons into prohibited areas, prompting attacks by Israel.
Minister of Defense Katz said Israel said on Tuesday that it wanted the Lebanese army to act more aggressively to “keep Hezbollah away from across the Litani River and dismantle all infrastructure.” The Litani River is about 29 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. mark This is a line that Hezbollah forces must not cross.
“If they don't do that and this whole deal falls apart, the reality will become clear. First of all, if we go back to war, we will act strongly and we will act deeper. “And the most important thing they need to know is that the Lebanese state will no longer have immunity,” Katz warned.
