UN urges security, respect for personnel

The United Nations Security Council has urged all parties to respect the safety and security of its personnel, emphasizing the need for diplomatic endeavors to end the Israel-Lebanon conflict.

Members of the Security Council expressed "strong concerns" after several positions of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon "came under fire in the past days", the council's rotating president, Pascale Baeriswyl, Switzerland's permanent representative to the UN, said.

"They urged all parties to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises. They recalled that UN peacekeepers and UN premises must never be the target of an attack," she said in a statement, adding the council reiterated its support for UNIFIL, underscoring its role in "supporting regional stability".

The council also expressed its deep concern for civilian casualties and suffering, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the rising number of internally displaced people, she said, calling on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law, including the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701.

"They also emphasized the need for diplomatic endeavors that would bring a durable end to the conflict and allow civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return safely to their homes," she said.

The statement came as Lebanon's mission to the UN filed two complaints against the Israeli military's orders for peacekeeping forces to vacate their positions, which they deemed "illegitimate". They also complained about the Israeli attacks' effect on Lebanon's education sector.

The mission said Israeli attacks on UNIFIL set a dangerous precedent and constituted a flagrant violation of international law and Resolution 1701 — a position echoed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on X earlier this week.

However, in a video message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the accusations as "completely false", denying that the Israeli military deliberately attacked UNIFIL personnel.

"It's exactly the opposite. Israel repeatedly asked UNIFIL to get out of harm's way," he said.

Arhama Siddiqa, a research fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad in Pakistan, said Israel "has repeatedly stretched the limits of what it calls its right to self-defense".

"Article 51 of the UN Charter, which is often cited to justify such actions, clearly states that the right to self-defense only applies in response to an armed attack and remains valid only until the Security Council intervenes to restore peace and security. The reality we witness, however, tells a much darker story," she said.

European Union foreign policy head Josep Borrell said the bloc's 27 member states "agreed" on asking Israel to stop attacking UNIFIL. He also raised the issue of attacks against civilians, destruction of infrastructure and the increasing violence of settlers in the West Bank and Gaza.

"The member states will have to discuss again about what to do. There are proposals on the table: sanctioning violent (Israeli) settlers — even two ministers of the Israeli government," Borrell said.

Lebanon's health authorities said on Monday the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has killed 2,229 people and caused 10,380 injuries across Lebanon. It has also displaced more than 1 million people within Lebanon.