Established to maintain peace in southern Lebanon, the UNIFIL forces have been increasingly caught in the middle of the Israeli-Hezbollah war.The New York Times reports that in order to maintain peace in southern Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Peacekeeping Force (UNIFIL) has been increasingly caught in the middle of the ongoing Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. This was evident when two members of the UNIFIL mission were injured on Thursday after an Israeli tank fired on one of their observation towers.

The incident, which is the most serious involving the international force since Israel’s warning to relocate from Lebanese positions, occurred near where Hezbollah fighters had launched rockets into northern Israel. Despite the request to move, the UNIFIL forces rejected it, according to a spokesman.

The UNIFIL has been stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978 with the mission of preventing violations along the border between Lebanon and Israel, also known as the Blue Line. Their mandate was expanded in 2006 after the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, an armed group backed by Iran.

However, over the past year, the peacekeepers have found themselves increasingly in the middle of cross-border strikes. This was evident when, a day after Hamas launched attacks on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, prompting Israel to retaliate. Last week, Israeli ground troops entered Lebanon to target militants.

The challenges faced by the UNIFIL peacekeepers at the volatile border have raised questions about their mission. According to a U.N. resolution from 2006, the force is authorized to ensure that its area of operations is not used for any hostile activities. However, with the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, this has become increasingly difficult to achieve. 

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