UN says 4 peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon ‘most likely by non-state actors’

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said four peacekeepers were wounded Tuesday when a rocket, “fired most likely by non-state actors”, hit their base.

“Four Ghanaian peacekeepers on duty sustained injuries as a rocket — fired most likely by non-state actors within Lebanon — hit their base” in the village of Ramia, UNIFIL said in a statement.

Another peacekeeping base in Shamma “was impacted by five rockets”, while elsewhere “an armed person directly fired at” a patrol, the statement said.

It did specify who was behind the fire in the other two incidents or mention any casualties.

The Italian defense ministry said Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked the UNIFIL base in Shamma after Defense Minister Guido Crosetto initially blamed Israel.

Since September 23, Israel has ramped up its bombing campaign in Lebanon, later sending in ground troops, after almost a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas.

Earlier Tuesday, UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti condemned what he said were “numerous hits” on the force’s personnel and bases in more than a year of hostilities, which he said had wounded “more than 20 peacekeepers.”