BEIRUT (Reuters) – One of the rockets launched from Lebanon in the heavy exchange between armed group Hezbollah and the Israeli military on Sunday was fired from near a position operated by international peacekeepers, the United Nations force told Reuters on Tuesday.
The U.N. peacekeeping force for Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said it had detected a “high number of air strikes and rocket launches in its area of operations” starting on Sunday morning.
“One such launch was detected from near one of our positions in Hanniyeh,” UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said, referring to a town in southern Lebanon approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the border with Israel.
The spokesperson said another explosion occurred later in the day near a UNIFIL position in Mays al-Jabal, along the border, but said there was no damage and no casualties.
“We continually stress to everyone that using areas near our positions to launch attacks across the Blue Line or targeting that puts peacekeepers in danger is unacceptable and a violation of Resolution 1701,” the spokesperson said.
The Blue Line is the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, where parts of the international border are disputed.
U.N. resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, tasks UNIFIL with ensuring that its area of operations “is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind”.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military said on Monday that it had identified Hezbollah rocket launch sites approximately 150 meters (490 feet) away from a U.N. position in Hanniyeh, without specifically naming UNIFIL.
There was no immediate response from Hezbollah to a Reuters request for comment.
Hezbollah on Sunday fired rockets and drones at Israeli military sites in retaliation for the killing of a top commander by Israel last month, and Israeli jets targeted approximately 40 launch sites in Lebanon.
It was one of the most intense exchanges of fire between the armed foes in more than 10 months of hostilities playing out in parallel with the Gaza war.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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