US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has expressed his "deep concern" about reports of Israeli forces firing on UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon.
In a statement, the US Defense Department (Pentagon) said Austin strongly emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces and reinforced the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible.
Secretary Austin also raised the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed that steps must be taken to address it.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, said that a peacekeeper at its headquarters in Naqoura was hit by gunfire due to ongoing military activity nearby. This brings the number of UN peacekeepers wounded at the facility since Thursday to five.
UNIFIL had earlier said that two peacekeepers at the headquarters were injured after an Israeli tank fired toward an observation tower on Thursday and another two were wounded the following day after explosions.
The incidents provoked international criticism and concern
