UN observers wounded by shelling in southern Lebanon
By Mattea Bubalo
Three United Nations observers and a translator have been wounded by shelling in Rmeish, southern Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping mission said.
Lebanon’s state news agency reported that an Israeli drone strike was behind the explosion, but the Israeli military denied it was responsible.
The UN mission, Unifil, said those hurt were receiving treatment and that it was investigating the blast’s origin.
It comes after rising tensions along the unofficial Israel-Lebanon border.
In a statement, Unifil said a shell had exploded near the group who had been on a foot patrol along the UN-demarcated Blue Line that divides southern Lebanon from Israel.
It described the targeting of peacekeepers as “unacceptable”.
“We heard a blast and then saw a UNIFIL car zipping by. The foreign observers were taken to hospitals in Tyre and Beirut by helicopter and car,” the mayor of Rmeish told Reuters, without providing further details on their condition.
He added that he had spoken with the Lebanese translator and confirmed his condition was stable.
