LAST UPDATE | 3 Sep 2025

ISRAELI DRONES DROPPED four grenades close to UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel as they were working to clear roadblocks, the force has said.

No one was hurt in the attack.

The peacekeeping force known as Unifil described the Tuesday incident as “one of the most serious attacks on Unifil personnel and assets” since the cessation of hostilities in November that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

It’s understood that Irish troops were not among those closest to the drone strikes. In a separate incident, Israeli forces conducted an operation last night in which a house located in the vicinity of the Irish peacekeepers’ camp was blown up as part of Israel’s aim to prevent people resettling in the area after attacks last year

The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

UNIFIL statement on attack on peacekeepers clearing roadblocks:

Yesterday morning, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drones dropped four grenades close to UNIFIL peacekeepers working to clear roadblocks hindering access to a UN position close to the Blue Line.

— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) September 3, 2025

Unifil said Israeli drones dropped four grenades close to the peacekeepers, who were working to clear roadblocks that hindered access to a UN position along the border line.

One grenade hit within 20 yards and three others within approximately 100 yards of UN personnel and vehicles, it said, adding the drones were seen returning toward Israel.

Unifil said the Israeli military had been informed in advance of the peacekeeping force’s road clearance work in the area, southeast of the village of Marwahin less than a mile from the border line.

“Out of concern for the safety of peacekeepers following the incident, yesterday’s work was suspended,” Unifil said.

The attack came after the UN Security Council voted unanimously last week to terminate the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon at the end of next year after nearly five decades, bowing to demands from the United States and Israel.

The multinational peacekeeping force has played a significant role in monitoring the security situation in southern Lebanon for decades, including during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

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The force has also drawn criticism from both sides and from officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has cut US. funding for the operation as Trump remakes America’s approach to foreign policy.

The Israel-Hezbollah war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused destruction worth $11 billion (€9.4 billion), according to the World Bank.

In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.

Unifil said any actions that endanger UN peacekeepers and assets or interfere with their tasks are unacceptable and a serious violation of international law and the resolution that ended the war.

It said it is the Israeli military’s responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers performing Security Council-mandated tasks.

Additional reporting by Niall O’Connor