The growing hostility between Israel and Hizbullah in recent days is having a direct impact on the situation – increasingly tense and volatile – experienced by the 700 Spanish soldiers deployed on the border, within the United Nations international mission that has some 10,400 helmets. blues in the area. Their mission, and there is no sign that they will give up, is to mediate between Tel Aviv and the pro-Iranian militia to prevent Lebanon from becoming Gaza.
The bulk of the contingent is located at the Miguel de Cervantes base, near Marjayún, in the south, where the headquarters of the Eastern sector, led by Spain, is located, from where they carry out patrols on foot and by vehicle along the border line. . In addition to that base, there are also Spanish troops at the headquarters in Naqoura.
Sources from the Defense Staff assure that, despite the fact that the situation is “complex and unpredictable”, the 700 Spanish troops are “doing well”, trying to “maintain” security levels and carrying out the tasks entrusted to them. The main one is to patrol the so-called Blue Line, the border between Lebanon and Israel set by the United Nations. The clashes in the area are not extraordinary, but since October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, the situation has worsened. The assassination in Beirut of Hamas number two, Saleh al-Aruri, has broken the camel’s back.
Israel continues to warn blue helmets before launching its attacks. And it is increasingly common to spend the day in bunkers to protect yourself, according to Defense sources. Despite these warnings, the risk is very high. Spanish Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro, in command of the international mission until 2025, confesses that the main concern is that “a miscalculation or misunderstanding” could cause the situation to escalate – like wildfire.
The blue helmets, according to the same sources, have stopped doing foot patrols along that Blue Line. They move only in vehicles. And some of them are the BMR armored vehicles, the ones used by Spanish troops. The former director of the Government’s Department of National Security (DSN), General Miguel Ángel Ballesteros, recently warned of the fragility of these vehicles. “They walk, they patrol, yes… but when they put a modern explosive on them, which is what the Taliban or other terrorists have, the BMR cannot endure it, cannot endure it and has not endured it, there have been deaths” , he assured.
The high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, has been in the area mediating with Hizbullah. For its part, Israel remains focused on Gaza, but many Israelis have left the border. And Tel Aviv warns that they must be able to return to their homes.
