The UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (Unifil) has accused the IDF of hindering the work of its forces and dropping an “unknown chemical” in the country over the weekend.
A Unifil spokesperson said that its operatives had been warned to “stay away and remain under cover” on Sunday while the drop of a “non-toxic chemical substance” was completed, forcing them to cancel “over a dozen activities”.
This was done close to the so-called “Blue Line” – the UN-recognised boundary between Israel and Lebanon.
"Peacekeepers could not perform normal operations near the Blue Line along about a third of its length and were only able to resume normal activities after over nine hours,” the spokesperson continued.
"This activity was unacceptable and contrary to resolution 1701 [which mandated the end of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War].
"The IDF’s deliberate and planned actions not only limited peacekeepers’ ability to undertake their mandated activities, but also potentially put their health and that of civilians at risk.
"It also raised concerns about the effects of this unknown chemical on local agricultural lands, and how this might impact the return of civilians to their homes and livelihoods in the long-term.”
They also revealed that the Lebanese Army had taken samples of the substance dropped for identification and toxicity testing.
It comes after Unifil received the final renewal of its mandate from the UN Security Council last August.
The council voted unanimously to “extend for a final time the mandate of Unifil” until December 31, 2026.
The French-drafted resolution states that “an orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal” must begin within a year of the mandate’s expiration.
“For a change, we have some good news coming from the United Nations,” Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, said after the vote.
“Today, the Lebanese government has a responsibility to take control of the area and to understand that they have to be there, not Hezbollah, or anyone else,” he stated.
Dorothy Shea, then the interim US ambassador to the UN, told the council that “the first ‘I’ in UNIFIL stands for ‘Interim’. The time has come for UNIFIL’s mission to end.”
The IDF declined the JC’s request for comment regarding Sunday’s operation.
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