U.S. expresses concern over Israeli fire on UN positions

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday expressed deep concern to Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant over reports that Israeli forces fired on UN peacekeeping positions in Lebanon.

In a call with his Israeli counterpart, Austin called for the safety and security of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese armed forces.

"I strongly emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces and reinforced the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible," Austin said in a post on X. "I also raised the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed that steps must be taken to address it."

He added that he reaffirmed to Gallant the United States' "unwavering, enduring and ironclad commitment to Israel's security."

UNIFIL announced on Saturday that one of its soldiers, the fifth to be injured this week, was hurt at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura by "fire of unknown origin" amid ongoing military operations in the vicinity.

This incident occurred two days after the UN agency reported that two of its Indonesian soldiers were injured when they fell from an observation tower following Israeli tank fire.

On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that its troops fired at an "immediate threat" coming from near a UNIFIL peacekeeping mission position, resulting in the injuries of two Sri Lankan UNIFIL soldiers. The IDF claimed its forces believed they were engaging Hezbollah.

The Lebanese army on Friday also accused Israel of killing two of its troops when it targeted a military center in the town of Kafra in the Bent Jbeil district of southern Lebanon.

Since the beginning of October, the Israeli army has conducted targeted ground operations against Hezbollah positions near the southern Lebanon border while also intensifying its airstrikes and artillery shelling on the southern suburbs of Beirut.

(With input from agencies)