UN spokesman: IDF flag placement near peacekeeper post endangers personnel

(SeaPRwire) –   Cross-border hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah have intensified

Israeli forces have placed an Israeli flag next to a United Nations peacekeeping post in southern Lebanon, an action the UN has cautioned could attract fire toward its personnel.

This event occurs as hostilities escalate between Israeli forces and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah along the frontier, increasingly exposing UN troops to danger. Recently, three Indonesian peacekeepers serving with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) lost their lives in two distinct events, and an additional peacekeeper was injured by a stray bullet.

During a UN press briefing on Thursday, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that peacekeepers had called for the flag’s removal after it was raised near a position close to the village of Kfar Kila. He also noted that Israeli forces had widened their operations west of the UN-marked Blue Line, with tanks and fighting reported in Sector West.

The flag “compromises the perceived neutrality of UNIFIL and could lead to peacekeepers being targeted during the ongoing fighting,” Dujarric informed journalists, calling on all sides to refrain from any measures that might further jeopardize the mission.

Kfar Kila is a Lebanese border village where Israeli forces have been active during clashes with Hezbollah and is said to be one of the locations the IDF is evaluating for demolition as part of a planned security buffer aimed at militant structures.

An image alleged to depict the flag was posted on X by Mohamad Safa, a Lebanese diplomat and UN civil society representative. He stated the photo, captured by a peacekeeper at a UN base in Lebanon, depicted an Israeli flag installed by IDF soldiers, “the day after they killed three UN peacekeepers and wounded others.” 

Preliminary results from an investigation into the deaths of two of the Indonesian personnel reportedly indicate a roadside blast hit their convoy near the Lebanese town of Bani Haiyyan, while the third peacekeeper died when a projectile struck a UNIFIL base near the village of Aadchit al-Qusayr.

Russia has strongly denounced the assaults on the UNIFIL contingent, with UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia stating Moscow anticipates the UN will determine accountability.

UNIFIL, created in 1978 after an Israeli advance into southern Lebanon, presently deploys approximately 7,500 peacekeepers from numerous nations. According to a Security Council resolution passed last year, its mandate is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2026, with a complete pullout planned for 2027, at which time its posts will be transferred to Lebanese state forces.

Israel initiated a military campaign against Hezbollah in early March after the militant organization conducted a series of attacks against Israel in response to the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a joint US-Israeli operation in Iran.