The UN said Israeli tanks stormed a peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL peacekeeping forces stated that two Israeli Merkav tanksThey destroyed the main door of the base and entered by force before dawn that Sunday. After the tanks left, shells exploded 100 meters awayAs a result, smoke spread throughout the base and affected UN staff, the statement said.

The Israeli military responded that militants from the Iran-backed Hezbollah group fired rockets. anti-tank weapon against Israeli troopswounding 25 of them. The attack occurred very close to the UNIFIL post and the tank, which was helping to evacuate casualties under fire, then retreated to the UN post, he said.

“This is not an attack on the base. This is not an attempt to infiltrate the base. It was a tank under heavy fireThis event resulted in many casualties who retreated to escape danger,” international army spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters.

The army statement said it used smoke screen provide cover for the evacuation of wounded soldiers, but their actions did not pose a threat to UN peacekeeping forces.

The UN force said any deliberate attack on peacekeepers was a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

Earlier on Sunday andIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: “The time has come for UNIFIL to withdraw troops from Hezbollah strongholds and combat zones.”

“The IDF repeatedly requested this and was repeatedly refused, which led to the provision of human shields to Hezbollah terrorists.”

CONFLICT CONTINUES FOR A YEAR

Hezbollah, which Israel has been fighting in southern Lebanon since the invasion began earlier this month, denies accusations that it is using the peacekeepers’ proximity for protection.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah reignited a year ago when the Iran-backed group began firing missiles north of Israel in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war and has escalated sharply in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Hezbollah said it attacked the Israeli army’s Golani Brigade camp in Binyamin in northern Israel with a “swarm of drones.” Israeli television N12 News reported that at least 67 people were injured, and the head of the ambulance service told N12 that four people were in critical condition. (Reuters).