The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has said Israeli forces fired at peacekeepers and dropped a grenade in their vicinity in southern Lebanon yesterday.
In a statement, UNIFIL said an Israeli drone dropped a grenade after coming close to a UNIFIL patrol near Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon.
The peacekeeping mission also said an Israeli tank fired towards peacekeepers.
No injuries or damage was reported.
UNIFIL added that before the two incidents, an Israeli drone had flown over a UNIFIL patrol in an "aggressive manner".
"The peacekeepers applied necessary defensive countermeasures to neutralise the drone," UNIFIL said.
The Israeli military subsequently accused UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon of shooting down one of its drones during an intelligence-gathering mission.
"Yesterday, an IDF intelligence-gathering drone was downed in the area of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon during a routine intelligence-gathering activity in the area," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said on X.
"An initial inquiry suggests that UNIFIL forces stationed nearby deliberately fired at the drone and downed it. The drone's activity did not pose a threat to UNIFIL forces."
Following the shooting of the drone, the military said it dropped a grenade toward the area where the UAV fell, claiming that troops did not fire at the peacekeepers.
UNIFIL said he incident "shows disregard for safety and security of the peackeepers implementing Security Council mandated tasks in southern Lebanon".
As part of last year's ceasefire deal, Israeli troops were to withdraw from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle any military infrastructure in the south.
According to the agreement, only the Lebanese army and UNIFIL are to be deployed in the south of the country.
The Irish Defence Forces confirmed that no Irish personnel were involved in yesterday's incident.
"All Irish troops are accounted for and are continuing their operational taskings in line with the UNIFIL mandate," it said in a statement.
The Irish UNIFIL zone is located near the towns of Bint Jbeil and Maroun El Ras, further south from where the attacks on UNIFIL patrols were reported.
There are over 300 Irish Defence Forces personnel serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon.
Yesterday, Israeli strikes on the country's south and east killed three people, despite an ongoing ceasefire deal.
Officials said one person had been killed in an "Israeli enemy strike" on a car in Naqoura, in Tyre province, while another strike on a vehicle in Nabi Sheet, in the country's eastern Baalbek region, resulted in another fatality.
Later, the health ministry said a further strike on the town of al-Hafir, also in the Baalbek area, resulted in the death of a Syrian national and an injury to another Syrian.
Under US pressure and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government has moved to begin disarming Hezbollah, a plan the movement and its allies oppose.
Despite the terms of the truce, Israel has kept troops deployed in five border points it deems strategic.
Israel has also intensified strikes in recent weeks, with several deadly attacks launched over the past few days.
Additional reporting AFP
