Hezbollah orders fighters to avoid target Israeli troops near UN peacekeepers

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group said on Monday it ordered its fighters not to attack Israeli troops who recently moved behind a UN peacekeeping position near a Lebanese border village.

The statement came a day after UNIFIL had warned Israel's operations near their position at Maroun al-Ras was "extremely dangerous" and compromised their safety, adding it had repeatedly informed Israel of their concerns.

Hezbollah said it reported "unusual movement of Israeli enemy forces behind a UNIFIL position, on the outskirts of the border village of Maroun al-Ras".

It ordered fighters "not to take action... to preserve the lives of the peacekeepers", quoting a field commander in its statement.

The group accused Israel of "trying to use UNIFIL forces as human shields".

Contacted by AFP, UNIFIL did not immediately respond.

On Saturday, UNIFIL said it remained in all positions near the border despite what it said was an Israeli request to "relocate".

Last week, Israel said it would start carrying out limited ground incursions into south Lebanon.

Hezbollah said it has clashed with Israeli troops in the Maroun al-Ras area and confronted attempted infiltrations there several times this week.

Israel has intensified its campaign against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since September 23, killing more than 1,110 people and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in a country already mired in economic crisis.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, stipulated that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in south Lebanon.