The Lebanese government reported on Sunday that a rocket led by Spanish General Aroldo Lázaro hit the UN headquarters in southern Lebanon without causing any injuries. “Prime Minister Najib Mikati called the commander of the international forces operating in southern Lebanon, General Aroldo Lázaro, to ask him about the circumstances surrounding the firing of a rocket at UNIFIL headquarters. [Fuerza Interina de Naciones Unidas para Líbano] in Naqura,” reported the presidency of the Lebanese Council of Ministers. Mijati “ensured that there were no casualties,” adds the note, which does not provide details about the projectile’s origins.
Military sources told EL PAÍS that it was not a guided missile, but a simple rocket – unguided self-propelled munitions – that hit a forecourt inside the base, while other projectiles hit outside. Fortunately, according to the same sources, there were no injuries, although there was no warning and the military could not protect themselves in the shelters. Initial indications indicate that the rockets did not come from the south (Israel) but from the north (Lebanon) and missed their trajectory towards the neighboring country.
The impact of the projectiles on the UNIFIL headquarters comes amid an escalation in the exchange of fire between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, which has already claimed 16 lives since Hamas was shot down on May 7 in a large-scale terrorist attack.
This Sunday, the Shiite militia announced a guided missile attack on the Hanita base in northern Israel that would have hit two Merkava tanks and an armored tracked vehicle, causing an unknown number of casualties. According to Hezbollah, this attack is a response to the Israeli bombings last Friday and Saturday that killed a Portal journalist and a civilian couple in the south of the country. In addition to Hezbollah, Palestinian militias operating in refugee camps are also launching attacks against Israel, although with less sophisticated weapons.
UNIFIL consists of nearly 10,000 peacekeepers from more than 40 countries stationed between Lebanon’s border with Israel (known as the Blue Line) and the Litani River. Spain provides around 650 soldiers and is responsible for controlling the southwest sector. Since the renewed outbreak of violence in the region, its boss, General Lázaro, has done well to prevent hostilities from spreading to Lebanon, which is already in a catastrophic situation. Hezbollah has threatened to open a new front in the north if Israel launches a full-scale invasion of Gaza.
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