Canada has demanded that “the strikes cease immediately” in response to Israeli attacks against the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The Canadian government denounced “Israeli aggressions against civilian infrastructure in northern Gaza, as well as against UN peacekeeping forces” in a statement issued on Thursday. The statement declared, “These attacks are unacceptable and must cease immediately.”
For his part, Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, stated that “the UNIFIL mission in southern Lebanon must continue.” He expressed hope that the UN Security Council would take strong action to stop such attacks.
Locally, the Lebanese caretaker Minister of Defense, Maurice Slim, reiterated “Lebanon’s commitment to UNIFIL,” stressing the efforts made by the Lebanese army in coordination with the Blue Helmets to implement Resolution 1701.
It should be noted that since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah took a new turn, strikes on UNIFIL have increased. Fresh Israeli fire on a Sri Lankan peacekeeping position in southern Lebanon occurred last Friday. Two Indonesian peacekeepers were the subject of similar attacks that took place the day before, after an Israeli tank shelled an observation tower at UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon.
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