29 October 2024

The U.N. Is Ineffective in Lebanon—and Indispensable

Giovanni Legorano

Israel has always had a thorny relationship with the United Nations. In recent weeks, it has become even thornier, after the U.N. accused Israeli armed forces of having fired on U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon amid fighting in that area with Hezbollah.

The U.N. mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, has said at least five peacekeepers have been injured and some of its bases damaged. The peacekeeping force also said that on Oct. 13, two Israel Defense Force (IDF) tanks destroyed the main gate of UNIFIL’s post in Ramyah, close to the Israeli border, and “forcibly entered” to request the base to turn out its lights. The same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged UNIFIL to leave the area and get “out of harm’s way” but denied that the targeting of the mission was deliberate.

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