On condition of anonymity, a judicial official told AFP on Wednesday that according to the initial results of the Lebanese army’s investigation, UN observers and their translator “were injured by (the explosion of) a mine” in Rmeish on Saturday.
“An investigation is being conducted jointly by UNIFIL (The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) and the Lebanese army,” he added. The official said that the “military justice is awaiting the final written report to determine responsibility.”
Similarly, UNIFIL’s spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told AFP that “preliminary reports show that the explosion was not caused by direct or indirect fire.” “The investigation is ongoing,” he added.
According to information obtained by This is Beirut, the UN team was being followed by an Israeli drone.
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For its part, Israel blamed Hezbollah, through the Israeli army’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee who said on Wednesday that the explosion was the result of a “charge (…) planted in the area by Hezbollah.” After the explosion, the Israeli army assured that it had not carried out any strikes in the area.
On the other hand, Hezbollah declined to comment. A source close to the pro-Iranian group told AFP that it “certainly does not respond to Israeli accusations.” According to this source, the case is now in the hands of “UNIFIL and the army, and the investigation is still ongoing.”
With AFP
