Four UN staff wounded in south Lebanon blast

UN peacekeepers said three military observers and a translator were wounded on Saturday in a blast in southern Lebanon, where Israel and the Hezbollah movement trade frequent cross-border fire.

Peacekeepers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) patrol the Blue Line, the border demarcated by the UN in 2000 when Israeli troops pulled out of southern Lebanon.

The UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) supports the peacekeeping mission.

Three UNTSO “military observers and one Lebanese language assistant on a foot patrol along the Blue Line were injured when an explosion occurred”, Unifil spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in a statement.

The wounded were “evacuated for medical treatment” and Unifil is “investigating the origin of the explosion”, Tenenti said.

“Safety and security of UN personnel must be guaranteed,” the statement said, urging “all actors to cease the heavy exchanges of fire before more people are unnecessarily hurt”.

UN chief Antonio Guterres “condemns” the Saturday blast and underscored “grave concern” over the frequent exchange of fire along the Blue Line, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Norway’s Defence Ministry said a Norwegian UN observer was “lightly injured” and had been admitted to hospital.

“The circumstances surrounding the attack are unclear,” Defence Ministry spokesperson Hanne Olafsen told Norwegian news agency NTB.

Tenenti said that the other two observers were from Australia and Chile, adding that all four wounded were in “stable” condition.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an “enemy (Israeli) drone” raided the Rmeish area of southern Lebanon where the UNTSO observers were wounded.

The Israeli army denied attacking the area. Tenenti said: “All actors have a responsibility under international humanitarian law to ensure protection to non-combatants, including peacekeepers, journalists, medical personnel and civilians.”