Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned earlier on Sunday that the United States was putting the lives of its troops “at risk by deploying them to operate US missile systems in Israel.”
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile defence system.Credit: AP
“While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests,” Araqchi posted on X.
On October 1, Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defences. The THAAD can hit targets at ranges of 150 to 200 kilometres.
International criticism is growing after Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on UN peacekeepers since the start of the ground operation in Lebanon. The military says Hezbollah operates in the vicinity of the peacekeepers, without providing evidence.
The peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL said Israeli tanks forcibly entered the gates of one of its positions early Sunday and destroyed the main gate, and later fired smoke rounds near peacekeepers in that location, causing skin irritation. UNIFIL said the incident was a “further flagrant violation of international law.”
Israeli strikes have wounded five peacekeepers in recent days.
The rubble of a house destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in which three people are claimed to have died.Credit: Getty Images
Israel’s military said a tank trying to evacuate wounded soldiers backed into a UN post while under fire. It said a smoke screen was used to provide cover.
Army spokesman Leuitenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani asserted that Israel has tried to maintain constant contact with UNIFIL and that any instance of UN forces being harmed will be investigated at “the highest level.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called for UNIFIL to heed Israel’s warnings to evacuate, accusing them of “providing a human shield” to Hezbollah.
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“We regret the injury to the UNIFIL soldiers, and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone,” he said in a video addressed to the UN secretary-general, who has been banned from entering Israel.
Israel has long accused the United Nations of being biased against it, and relations have plunged further since the start of the war in Gaza. Israel has accused the UN agency for Palestinian refugees of being infiltrated by Hamas, allegations the agency denies.
More to come
