The situation of the 650 Spanish soldiers displaced in southern Lebanon on an international mission is becoming “unsustainable”, as the escalation of hostility between Israel and Hizbullah progresses, according to military sources familiar with the daily conditions of the deployment of the United Nations. United. The national troops are experiencing moments of “serious risk”, after the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian militia have stopped giving advance warning of their attacks – as they had been doing. This crossfire without prior announcement is causing the blue helmets to spend “almost half the day locked in bunkers” without being able to carry out the assigned mission: patrol the so-called Blue Line, the border between Lebanon and Israel set by the UN.
This week, after Iran’s attack on Israel – which the latter knew how to repel –, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, showed her concern about “the difficult situation” that the Spanish military is going through in southern Lebanon. She praised the “great work” that the troops have been doing, but she warned from the frigate Almirante Juan de Borbón – which was stopping in the port of Helsinki (Finland) – that maintaining peace in the area is highly complicated. However, the military sources consulted intensify the reality faced by Spanish soldiers in their daily lives, who have suffered several major incidents without fear for their lives.
The UN peacekeeping mission has been fading since the Hamas attack on Israeli territory last October. Foot patrols stopped due to the enormous danger that soldiers would be exposed to along the Blue Line. These patrols began to be carried out only in vehicles, but throughout these months several of them have been hit by shots from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Like the incident that occurred at the end of November near Aytarun, in the south of the country.
The growing external hostility added to doubts about the security offered by the BMR armored vehicles used by Spanish soldiers. It was the then director of the Government’s Department of National Security (DSN), General Miguel Ángel Ballesteros, who warned of the fragility of these vehicles. “They go around, they patrol, yes… but when they put a modern explosive on them, which is what the Taliban or other terrorists have, the BMR can’t stand it, can’t stand it and hasn’t stood it, there have been deaths” , he assured in statements that raised blisters within the Ministry of Defense.
Now; patrols are reduced to minimum power. The turning point was marked three weeks ago, when three UN observers – a Norwegian, a Chilean and an Australian – and the translator who accompanied them were injured by a shell that hit near their positions in a launch without prior warning. In times prior to the escalation of tension, the blue helmets had the margin of warning to be able to take refuge in the bunkers that protected them from crossfire. Despite this, the international barracks have not been spared from suffering damage.
It was General Aroldo Lázaro himself, a Spaniard in charge of the international mission since 2022, who traveled to southeastern Lebanon to check the impact of the exchanges of fire between the militias and the Israeli army. “Given the real danger of escalation, we emphasize: only a political and diplomatic solution is viable. We call on everyone to lay down their weapons so that people can return,” the general requested through social networks.
Spain, which has been participating in the mission since 2006 after Congress approved the sending of 1,000 soldiers, is not currently considering a withdrawal to Lebanon, according to Defense sources. In these 18 years, 16 Spaniards have died in the mission.