India ‘concerned’ after Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon: ‘Inviolability must be respected’

India remains a significant contributor to UNIFIL, with over 900 troops currently on peacekeeping duty

India on Friday said it was concerned at the deteriorating security situation along the Blue Line -- which separates Israel and Lebanon since the 1970s – amid reports that United Nations peacekeepers were wounded in an Israeli strike.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi continues to monitor the situation closely. "We are concerned at the deteriorating security situation along the Blue Line. We continue to monitor the situation closely," the MEA said.

The 120-km Blue Line is a United Nations-recognised demarcation line to indicate that Israel had withdrawn its military from southern Lebanon. It separates Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights, but it is not an official international border.

“Inviolability of UN premises must be respected by all, and appropriate measures taken to ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers and the sanctity of their mandate,” the statement added.

The MEA's statement follows Lebanon's condemnation of an Israeli attack that reportedly injured UN peacekeepers in the southern region of the country.

Lebanon’s foreign ministry was quoted by AFP as saying on Friday that the bombing by Israel targeted “watchtowers and the main United Nations Interim Force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) base in Ras Naqura, and on the Sri Lankan battalion’s base, which led to a number of wounded.”

A UN source, meanwhile, told Reuters that Israeli forces had fired at an observation post belonging to the UNIFIL peacekeeping force at its main base at Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Friday, wounding two people.

Israeli forces had also breached the perimeter of another UNIFIL position that they had fired at on Thursday, the source said.

India remains a significant contributor to UNIFIL, with over 900 troops currently on peacekeeping duty.

UNIFIL was created by the Security Council in March 1978 following Israel's "invasion" of Lebanon. The UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL has been operating along the "Blue Line" which separates Lebanon and Israel since the 1970s, and its mandate was renewed in August for another year by the UN Security Council.

It comprises around 10,500 peacekeepers from 50 contributing countries, including India.