UN seeks to diffuse tensions on Israel-Lebanon border
Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in August, prompting retaliatory strikes by the Israeli military on Lebanon.
United Nations peacekeepers hosted Israeli and Lebanese military officers for a meeting Thursday to discuss recent cross-border attacks.
The commander of the UN’s Lebanon mission, UNIFIL, Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col, chaired the meeting with representatives of the Lebanese armed forces and the Israel Defense Forces at the UN base in Naqoura, southern Lebanon. They discussed the “serious breaches in the cessation of hostilities” that took place Aug. 4-6, according to a UNIFIL statement.
“This unprecedented level of escalation has serious implications for the cessation of hostilities,” said Del Col. “It is important therefore that this remains an isolated event and does not represent a new trend.”
On Aug. 6, the Lebanese military organization Hezbollah claimed credit for several rockets that were fired from Lebanon into Israel that day. It followed previous unclaimed rocket strikes. The Israeli military said it struck the rocket launch sites in Lebanon in response.
