Israeli tanks 'forcibly entered' UN Lebanon position

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon said Israeli tanks broke through a gate to enter a Blue Helmet position on the Lebanese side of the border Sunday, after blocking their movement the previous day.

"At around 4:30 am, while peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position's main gate and forcibly entered the position" in the Ramia area, before leaving 45 minutes later, UNIFIL said, after on Saturday Israeli soldiers "stopped a critical UNIFIL logistical movement near Mais al-Jabal, denying it passage."

The incident comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the UN chief to move peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon out of "harm's way", claiming that Hezbollah was using them as "human shields".

His call to UN chief Antonio Guterres came a day after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) repeated its refusal to withdraw from the border area after five of its members were wounded in the Israeli war on Lebanon.

Israel's noncompliance with international norms

"Mr Secretary General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm's way. It should be done right now, immediately," Netanyahu said in a video statement issued by his office.

"We regret the harm to UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing our utmost to prevent such harm. But the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is simply to withdraw them from the danger zone."

UNIFIL has refused to leave its positions in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's Prime Minister condemned his Israeli counterpart's call to UN chief Antonio Guterres to remove peacekeepers from the Lebanese side of the border, where clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli troops have intensified.

Lebanon "condemns Netanyahu's position and the Israeli aggression against UNIFIL" peacekeepers, said Najib Mikati. "The warning that Netanyahu addressed to... Guterres demanding the removal of the UNIFIL represents a new chapter in the enemy's approach of not complying with international" norms, he added.