UNIFIL warns after Israeli army drops chemical substance in southern Lebanon

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has warned of the repercussions of an Israeli aerial operation in southern Lebanon involving the dropping of a chemical substance, saying the incident disrupted peacekeeping operations and raised health and environmental concerns.

In a statement issued on Monday, UNIFIL said the Israeli army informed the force on Sunday morning that it intended to carry out an aerial activity to drop a chemical substance over areas near the Blue Line, the demarcation line marking Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000.

According to UNIFIL, Israeli forces instructed peacekeepers to move away from the area and remain indoors, prompting the cancellation of more than 10 UNIFIL field activities.

The UN force said its personnel were unable to conduct routine operations near the Blue Line along roughly one-third of its length, and only resumed work after more than nine hours.

UNIFIL said it assisted the Lebanese Armed Forces in collecting samples for testing to determine the level of toxicity.

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It described the incident as “unacceptable” and said it constituted a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. UNIFIL added that the Israeli army’s actions hampered its ability to carry out its mandate and “may have endangered the health of its personnel and civilians”, while also raising concerns over possible impacts on local agricultural land and the return of displaced civilians to their homes and livelihoods.

UNIFIL said this was not the first time the Israeli army had dropped unidentified chemical substances from aircraft over Lebanon, and called on Israel to cease such activities and cooperate with peacekeepers to support stability in southern Lebanon.

Separately, Lebanese Environment Minister Tamara Zein said she contacted army commander Rodolphe Heikel after receiving reports from the town of Aita al-Shaab and nearby areas about Israeli aircraft spraying suspected pesticides.

In a statement, Zein said she requested samples from affected sites for analysis to determine the nature of the materials used. She added that, if toxicity is confirmed, such conduct would be “not surprising” from the Israeli side.

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