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Lebanon
UNIFIL condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory, expressing condolences to the Lebanese Army after an airstrike killed three soldiers in Nabatieh.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) declared on Saturday that Israeli attacks on Lebanese soil constitute a serious violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.
In a statement posted on its X platform account, UNIFIL said, "These attacks on Lebanese territory represent grave breaches of Lebanon’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Security Council Resolution 1701."
The statement further expressed UNIFIL’s sincere condolences to the Lebanese Army and the families of the personnel who were killed in an airstrike on Nabatieh on Saturday morning.
Separately, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned what he described as a "blatant violation of his country’s sovereignty" following the death of three soldiers in an Israeli airstrike targeting their vehicle in southern Lebanon. This occurred despite a conditional truce agreement between Lebanon and Israel following direct negotiations held in the United States.
On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes continued to target multiple villages in southern Lebanon, according to the official National News Agency. Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for five villages in southern and eastern Lebanon.
The Lebanese Army announced in a statement that a "barbaric and aggressive Israeli airstrike targeted a military vehicle on the Kafr Tebnit-Khirdali road (Nabatieh) in southern Lebanon, resulting in the martyrdom of two officers, ranked Brigadier General and Captain, and one soldier."
The army’s statement condemned the "ongoing brutal, deliberate, and repeated Israeli aggression against Lebanon, its people, and the army," affirming its determination to "confront these hostile attempts aimed at undermining all efforts to achieve a solution that would restore stability, enforce a comprehensive ceasefire, and ensure Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territories."
In his statement, the Lebanese president denounced the Israeli airstrike that killed the soldiers, describing it as a "blatant violation of Lebanese sovereignty." He added that the attack "occurs amid ongoing escalation that threatens stability and security in the south despite Lebanon’s efforts in Washington negotiations to end continuous Israeli attacks without deterrence."
The Israeli army acknowledged targeting the soldiers, stating in a release that it detected "a vehicle moving suspiciously toward forces near Kafr Tebnit in southern Lebanon" within an "active combat zone" before striking it.
The statement added, "Examination results showed that two officers and one soldier from the Lebanese Army were inside the vehicle. The incident remains under investigation."
