The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stationed in Lebanon said on the 16th (local time) that it came under attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the south.
In a statement the same day, the peacekeepers said, "This morning, the Israel Defense Forces fired toward peacekeepers from a Merkava tank near an outpost in southern Lebanon," adding, "Machine-gun rounds struck about 5 meters from peacekeepers who were on foot."
It continued, "We requested a cease-fire from the Israel Defense Forces through liaison channels, and 30 minutes later, as the Merkava tank withdrew into an IDF position, we were able to leave the scene safely," adding, "Fortunately, no one was injured."
It went on to condemn the incident as "a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and an infringement of Lebanon's sovereignty."
Regarding this, the Israel Defense Forces said, "Due to poor weather conditions, we mistook them for suspected terrorists and fired warning shots," and "there was no intent to deliberately shoot at the peacekeepers," according to AFP.
After Israel launched a ground offensive against Hezbollah, an armed faction that supports Hamas, in September last year, it entered a truce in November mediated by the United States and France. Since then, it has set up five outposts in southern Lebanon and stationed troops there.
This is not the first clash between the Israel Defense Forces and the peacekeepers. On the 26th of last month, an Israeli drone approached peacekeepers on patrol near Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon and dropped a grenade, after which an IDF tank shelled the peacekeepers. In September, near the "Blue Line," the U.N.-demarcated border between Israel and Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces used a drone to drop a grenade next to the peacekeepers.