(MENAFN) The United Nations (UN) on Monday strongly criticized the recent Israeli assaults on a patrol belonging to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon).

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated during a press briefing, "I can tell you that we are very concerned about the incident that occurred on Sunday in which an Israeli drone dropped a grenade in the vicinity of a UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) patrol and subsequently an Israeli tank fired a shot at the peacekeepers in Kafr Kila in the UNIFIL area of operations."

Dujarric confirmed that there were no injuries among the personnel and further noted that "no damage was caused to our peacekeepers and assets."

He went on to explain that "this incident came after an earlier one in the same location, where an Israeli drone flew over a UNIFIL patrol in an aggressive manner," adding that "the UNIFIL peacekeepers employed defensive countermeasures to neutralize the drone."

The spokesperson stressed that "any actions that may endanger the safety and security of the peacekeepers are completely unacceptable and must cease immediately."

According to UNIFIL, the attack occurred on Sunday when an Israeli drone and tank fire targeted a peacekeeping patrol near the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila.

The mission further stated that an Israeli drone had earlier flown over another patrol in the same area, leading the peacekeepers to use defensive means to neutralize the threat.

UNIFIL, which has been stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978, was substantially strengthened under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 following the 2006 conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah.

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