The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported this Saturday, October 12, that a peacekeeper had been wounded in southern Lebanon. The soldier, hit by a bullet whose origin has yet to be determined, was caught up in the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, where peacekeepers often find themselves at the heart of exchanges of fire

According to an official statement from UNIFIL, the incident occurred on Friday evening near the mission’s headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura, while a military operation was taking place nearby. This latest incident brings to five the number of peacekeepers injured in two days. The previous day, four other members of the mission, from Indonesia and Sri Lanka, had been wounded, two of them as a result of an attack by Israeli forces.

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti also referred to pressure from Israel. “The Israeli forces asked us to withdraw our troops to within five kilometers of the Blue Line, but a unanimous decision was taken to stay put. The UN flag must continue to fly in this strategic zone”, he asserted. UNIFIL, which has around 10,000 troops in southern Lebanon, is thus continuing its mission despite the growing risks in this region of high tension.