By Wang Zhuolun, Li Jun and Xie Hao

As the Hezbollah-Israel conflict continues to escalate, Israel has recently launched several attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), sparking widespread opposition from the international community.

Analysts say that the attacks of Israel express its dissatisfaction with the UN and UNIFIL and serve the military action of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in southern Lebanon. Since the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out, Israel has repeatedly crossed the "red line" of the international community. The main reason is the continuous indulgence and support from the US, which has led to a lack of restraint on the actions of Israel. This series of attacks seriously challenges the authority of the UN and may lead to broader regional instability.

Recently, the UNIFIL peacekeepers have been attacked frequently. On October 10th, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF tank opened fire on an observation tower at UNIFIL's headquarters in Naqoura; on 11th, two more peacekeepers were injured in the attack of the IDF; on 12th, a UNIFIL peacekeeper was wounded by bullets from nearby military actions; and on 13th, two IDF tanks forcibly entered a base of the UNIFIL. In addition, UNIFIL also accused the IDF of blocking a critical logistical movement of UNIFIL forces on the 12th.

Faced with condemnation from the international community, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu took a tough stance and issued a video statement to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the 13th, saying that the presence of UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon makes them "hostages of Hezbollah". The IDF had repeatedly asked the UNIFIL to withdraw from the war zone but was repeatedly rejected. Refusing to withdraw would endanger the lives of the UNIFIL peacekeepers and Israeli soldiers. Netanyahu expressed regret for the harm caused to UNIFIL soldiers. "We are doing everything in our power to prevent this harm. But the simplest and most logical way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the combat zone," Netanyahu added.

Guterres responded on the same day that although UNIFIL troops had suffered multiple attacks in the past few days, it would stay in all its positions.

The Israeli side stated that the attack on UNIFIL peacekeepers was not intentional. The forced intrusion incident on the 13th was caused by a tank that was assisting in evacuating the wounded and drove into the UNIFIL base while "reversing" due to a "fierce attack". The IDF fired smoke bombs to provide cover for the evacuation of the wounded, which posed no threat to UNIFIL peacekeepers. But experts think that things are not that simple.

Qatar's Al Jazeera quoted Lebanese security and political affairs analyst Ali Rizk as saying that Israel has always been dissatisfied with UNIFIL troops, believing that it has not prevented Hezbollah from carrying out military activities in some areas that pose threats to Israel and that the attack is a manifestation of its dissatisfaction with the UN.

The attacks of the IDF are believed to have more important military purposes. Some analysts believe that the UNIFIL troops occupied the main transportation routes in southern Lebanon, becoming the biggest obstacle to the rapid advance of the IDF in the area. Therefore, Israel tried to force it to withdraw through attacks. Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute (MESI) of Shanghai International Studies University, thinks that the main purpose of the IDF attack on UNIFIL troops is to create conditions for opening a security buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

Apart from the attacks on the UNIFIL peacekeepers, Israel has repeatedly crossed the "red line" of the international community since the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out, including causing large numbers of civilian casualties and serious humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and carrying out "targeted elimination" on the territory of other countries. It is also widely believed that Israel was behind the explosion of communication devices in Lebanon. Analysts point out that the support and connivance of the US are major reasons for Israel to push forward its military operations despite strong opposition from the international community.

The United States not only provides diplomatic support to Israel on various occasions but also continues to provide military aid to Israel by sending additional military forces to the Middle East. Just on the 13th, the US Department of Defense announced that it would provide Israel with a THAAD anti-missile system and send relevant US military personnel.

According to Liu Zhongmin, Israel has developed an increasingly radical and reckless behavior pattern in the conflicts over the past year. The support of the US has made it difficult for the UN Security Council to form an effective restraint and punishment mechanism for Israel, allowing Israel to go further and further on the path. This series of attacks on UN peacekeepers poses a threat to the international order and seriously challenges the authority of the UN and the credibility of multilateral mechanisms.