Israeli forces open fire on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, no injuries reported

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JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli military forces opened fire on United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Sunday, in an incident the U.N. peacekeeping mission described as a serious violation.

None of the U.N. forces were reported wounded.

Israeli soldiers had opened fire on two suspects in the El Hamames area near the Israeli border, only later realising that they were U.N. peacekeepers, the military said in a statement.

The military said the peacekeepers were misidentified due to poor weather conditions. The incident was under review, it said.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said the Israeli forces had fired from a Merkava tank positioned inside Lebanese territory towards the peacekeepers, who were on foot. Heavy machine gun fire landed five metres from the peacekeepers, who were forced to seek shelter, it said.

The Israeli tank withdrew after peacekeepers contacted the Israeli military through official channels, UNIFIL said.

UNIFIL called the incident a “serious violation” of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which, among other provisions, states that no armed forces should be operating in southern Lebanon except the U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese military.

The Lebanese military said in a statement that Israeli violations of its sovereignty caused instability within the country and hindered its own forces from deploying in the south.

The Israeli military occupies five posts within Lebanon and frequently carries out airstrikes in the country’s south that it says are targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last year that required the Lebanese militant group not to have any weapons in the south and for Israeli forces to fully withdraw from Lebanon.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of trying to rearm, while Lebanon’s government accuses Israel of violating the agreement by not withdrawing and continuing to carry out airstrikes.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Alex Richardson)