'Unjustifiable': Israel condemned for attacks injuring UN peacekeepers in Lebanon
Two United Nations peacekeepers have been injured by an Israeli strike near their watchtower in south Lebanon, the Israeli military said, while blasts shook the peacekeepers' main base in the area for the second time in 48 hours as Israeli forces battled Hezbollah.
The UNIFIL force said Friday's incident was a "serious development", and that the security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed.
France summoned Israel's ambassador, and issued a joint statement with Italy and Spain saying such attacks were "unjustifiable". United States President Joe Biden said he was asking Israel to not hit the UNIFIL forces. Russia said it was "outraged" and demanded Israel refrain from "hostile actions" against the peacekeepers.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had already condemned the attacks on UN personnel.
The Israeli military expressed "deep concern" and said two peacekeepers had been injured by Israeli fire as it was engaging Hezbollah. It said they had been warned hours earlier to take shelter. The United Nations said both were from Sri Lanka.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted one year ago when began launching rockets at northern Israel in support of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, at the start of the Gaza war.
It has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, , and sending ground troops across the border. Hezbollah for its part has fired rockets deeper into Israel.
, caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said. Lebanon's army said two soldiers were killed and three wounded when Israeli forces attacked one of its military posts in Kafra in the south.
Israel says its campaign in Lebanon aims to make northern Israel safe for by Hezbollah rocket fire.
Its expanded operation has displaced more than 1.2 million people, according to the Lebanese government, which says more than 2,100 people have been killed and more than 10,000 wounded in over a year of fighting. The tally does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but includes scores of women and children.
Hezbollah rockets have killed at least 54 people in Israel, more than half of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
