UN stands firm on UNIFIL presence despite Israeli request

The United Nations has rejected Israel's request to evacuate the UNIFIL mission troops who patrol the border between Israel and Lebanon, as reported by the Spanish newspaper "El Pais" on Friday. The Polish Military Contingent is also stationed in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL.

The Israeli army, which is conducting operations in southern Lebanon, requested the UN to evacuate more than 20 UNIFIL observation posts. It warned that it could not guarantee the safety of the soldiers, according to the newspaper, citing UN sources.

"Although military circles interpret this message as a veiled threat, the United Nations has decided to maintain its forward positions, although it has reduced the number of personnel deployed there to a minimum and has tightened security measures," writes "El Pais".

Over 650 soldiers from Spain play a significant role among the "blue helmets" in Lebanon, and since 2022, Spanish General Aroldo Lazaro has been the commander of UNIFIL. At the end of September, the country's Defence Minister Margarita Robles stated that the soldiers in Lebanon had limited their activities to a minimum due to the ongoing Israeli shelling.

The withdrawal of UN troops would eliminate the only witnesses to the Israeli invasion, reported military sources cited by the newspaper.

Although the government in Madrid is not currently considering withdrawing troops from Lebanon, on Thursday, nearly 250 out of approximately 1,000 Spanish citizens present in this Middle Eastern country were evacuated.