UNIFIL says Israeli drone crash violated Lebanese sovereignty

A spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Wednesday that an Israeli drone crashed inside the mission’s headquarters in Naqoura the previous afternoon.

Kandice Ardiel, UNIFIL’s spokesperson, said no one was hurt in the incident. Peacekeepers trained in explosive ordnance disposal secured the site and confirmed the drone was not armed but equipped with a camera. The Israeli army later acknowledged the drone was theirs.

“While peacekeepers are equipped and ready to take action against threats to their safety in self-defence, this device fell on its own,” Ardiel said, noting that, like all “drone and other flights over south Lebanon, this is a violation of Resolution 1701 and Lebanese sovereignty.”

She stressed that UNIFIL “takes any interference or threat against its personnel, installations, or operations with utmost seriousness and will formally protest this act.” 

Despite the challenges, she added, UNIFIL remains committed to working “impartially and steadfastly in support of security and stability in south Lebanon, which ongoing violations continue to put at risk.”