The world organisation has warned of a “heightened risk of a full-scale war” along the Lebanon-Israel border where 901 Indian peacekeepers are deployed.

“The UN is deeply concerned at the increase in the intensity of exchanges of fire across the Blue Line yesterday, which heightens the risk of a full-scale war”, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson’s office said on Friday.

“Escalation can and must be avoided. We reiterate that the danger of miscalculation leading to a sudden and wider conflagration is real,” it added.

After an Israeli drone killed a senior commander of the Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the militia responded by sending a barrage of 100 rockets into Israel.

The well-entrenched Hezbollah, which has the backing of Iran has threatened to continue attacks on Israel in solidarity with Hamas under Israeli assault in Gaza.

The decades-long tensions in the area have intensified since October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, which launched a retribution on Gaza that it controls.

In solidarity with Hamas, Hezbollah said attacks on Israel till there is a ceasefire in Gaza, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.

Civilians have suffered the most from the volley of attacks between Hezbollah and Israel.

About 60,000 Lebanese have reportedly been displaced, and, according to United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, about 20,000 Israelis have also been forced to flee the border areas because of the attacks.

“Israel has effectively lost its sovereignty in the northern quadrant of its country because people don’t safe to go to their homes,” he said on Monday underscoring the risk of war.

He added that an agreement reached through diplomacy was needed to end the security risks and ensure that “forces are pulled back.”

The spokesperson’s office also emphasised that a “political and diplomatic solution is the only viable way forward.”

The Indian peacekeepers are a part of the 10,000-strong 49-nation UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) charged by the Security Council to work with Lebanese national forces to keep order in the volatile section known as the Blue Line that separates Lebanon and Israel.

In effect, the mission also acts as a buffer between the two countries at times caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The spokesperson’s office said that the Foreign Affairs Committee of Lebanon’s Parliament visited UNIFIL to express support for the mission and its mandate on Thursday.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to emphasise “the need for de-escalation across the Blue Line,” it added.

Lebanon’s writ is weak in the region where Hezbollah controls vast tracts of territory.

Mohammad Naameh Nasser, who Israel blamed for rockets into the country, was the second Hezbollah commander killed in less than a month.

Last month another Hezbollah commander, Taleb Abdallah, was killed by Israel in Southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah retaliated with about 150 rockets and drones, but international diplomacy kept it from further escalation.

At another peacekeeping mission in the region, the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) charged with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria, 202 Indian troops are deployed.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

A United Nations logo and flag are seen during the U.N. General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

An Indian peacekeeper who lost his life serving under the UN flag is among over 60 military, police and civilian peacekeepers to be honoured posthumously with a prestigious medal for their service and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, who served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), will be honoured posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjold medal during a solemn ceremony on May 30 when the UN commemorates the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, a press release issued by the UN said on Tuesday.

Also read: Explained | What is the U.N. Peacekeeping mission?

India is the second largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping. It currently deploys more than 6,000 military and police personnel to the UN operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, Somalia, South Sudan, and Western Sahara. Nearly 180 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, the highest number by far from any troop-contributing country.

During formal ceremonies at the United Nations Headquarters on May 30, Secretary-General António Guterres will lay a wreath at the Peacekeepers Memorial Site on the North Lawn to honour all UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948. He will also preside over a ceremony during which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medals will be awarded posthumously to 64 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives serving under the UN flag, including 61 who died last year.

In his message to mark Peacekeepers’ Day, Mr. Guterres said the world organisation pays tribute to the more than 76,000 United Nations peacekeepers who embody humanity’s highest ideal: peace.

“Day in and day out, at great personal risk, these women and men bravely work in some of the most dangerous and unstable places on earth to protect civilians, uphold human rights, support elections and strengthen institutions,” he said, noting that more than 4,300 peacekeepers have paid the ultimate price while serving under the UN flag. “We will never forget them.” The press release said that in 1948, the historic decision was made to deploy military observers to the Middle East to supervise the implementation of Israel-Arab Armistice Agreements, in what became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation.

Since then, more than two million peacekeepers from 125 countries have served in 71 operations around the world. Today, about 76,000 women and men are serving in 11 conflict zones across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

The theme for the 2024 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is ‘Fit for the future, building better together’, denoting that while UN Peacekeeping has proven to be part of the solution for over 75 years — assisting host countries in navigating the difficult path from conflict to peace — the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace policy brief sets out a path for multilateral peace and security operations to remain viable tools to address future crises and conflict.

“UN Peacekeeping remains a unique global partnership, with peacekeepers from over 120 countries making a meaningful difference every day to millions of people in some of the world’s most difficult places,” Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said.

“As we respond to tomorrow’s challenges, UN Peacekeeping continues to evolve, leveraging partnerships to be nimble, responsive and fit-for-purpose, promote stability, protect the vulnerable and help to build a durable peace,” he said.

The International Day of UN Peacekeepers, marked on May 29, was established by the UN General Assembly in 2002, to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.