Overview
- The incident occurred at about 16:30 local time on January 12 near El Khiam within the Spanish battalion’s area of responsibility north of the UN buffer zone.
- UNIFIL reported Merkava tanks operating from Israeli positions inside Lebanon near Sarda that pushed further into Lebanese territory.
- One tank fired three main‑gun rounds, with two landing roughly 150 and 380 meters from the patrol, which withdrew to safety with no injuries or damage and later returned to base in Marjayoun.
- The mission says it had notified Israel in advance of the patrol’s movements and that the tanks tracked the peacekeepers with a laser before departing about 30 minutes later.
- UNIFIL cites a broader pattern of risk to its 11,000‑strong force, noting at least eight attacks on peacekeepers over the past year, including roughly 700 Spanish troops deployed.