U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon pledge not to give in to Israeli demands to 'get out of harm's way'

The United Nations has insisted it will not withdraw its peacekeepers from Lebanon despite repeated demands by Israel for them to move out of the area.

The United Nations said it wouldn't bow to pressure to withdraw its peacekeepers from southern Lebanon despite its forces coming under fire and repeated demands from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they move out of the area.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, will stay in “all its positions,” including those near the border where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah, the head of peacekeeping operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told reporters in New York on Monday.

He added that the decision to keep them in place had the full backing of both the U.N. Security Council and the member states contributing troops to the force, which Israel says has failed in its mission to stabilize the area as Hezbollah’s presence has grown.

Adversaries for decades, the sides have been clashing since the Iran-backed group started firing rockets over a year ago in solidarity with Hamas after the Palestinian group's Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, with 250 taken hostage. More than 42,000 have been killed in Gaza in the ensuing war, according to local health officials.

Satellite imagery shows what appears to be Israeli tanks surrounding a UNIFIL base near Maroun Al Ras in southern Lebanon earlier this month.Planet Labs PBCThe fighting near the Israel-Lebanon border has prompted 1.2 million people in Lebanon to leave their homes, while Israel is also seeking to return tens of thousands of citizens to their homes in the north. In recent weeks Israel doubled down on its offensive after widespread bombing of Lebanon began on Sept. 17 when pagers belonging to members of Hezbollah, long Iran's most powerful proxy force, exploded across the country.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-hezbollah-war-lebanon-unfil-peacekeepers-gaza-rcna175434

---