(VOVWORLD) - The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Wednesday that its peacekeepers near southern Lebanon’s Kfar Kila observed an Israeli Merkava tank firing at their watchtower.
 Israeli infantry and tanks in southern Lebanon. (Photo: IDF) |
They described it as “a direct and apparently deliberate attack”. The Israeli military has not commented on the claim.
Since its ground troops were deployed to attack Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon on September 30th, the Israeli military has been repeatedly accused of firing at UN peacekeepers.
On Wednesday, in a video call set up by France and Italy, the defense ministers of 16 European countries who contribute to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said they will exert maximum political and diplomatic pressure on Israel to ensure that no further such attacks occur.
France announced Wednesday that it has banned Israeli companies from the Euronaval International Defense Exhibition scheduled for early November. This is the second time this year that France has banned Israeli firms from a major defense show.
Israel’s Embassy in France immediately issued a statement saying France’s decision has affected the relationship and trust between the two nations. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in a post on X, protested Paris’s decision.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli airstrike destroyed municipal headquarters in Nabatieh, a town in southern Lebanon, on Wednesday, killing 16 people including mayor Ahmad Kahil in the biggest attack on a Lebanese government building since the Israeli air campaign began.
Lebanese officials denounced the attack, calling it proof that Israel's campaign against Hezbollah is shifting to target the Lebanese state.