Satellite images show Israeli military presence near the UN base in Lebanon

New SkySat images from Planet Labs PBC show Israeli military vehicles in front of a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base in the south of the country. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are near a post where Irish peacekeepers are stationed.

The images shared by Planet Labs were taken on October 5, days after Israel announced it would officially launch ground operations in the region to combat Hezbollah.

_{Caption: Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show changes in the landscape around the UNIFIL base between September 29 and October 5.}

Compared to SkySat images taken less than a week earlier on September 29, new military activity is visible in the area of ​​the Irish UNIFIL base at 33.096235, 35.458235. The base is officially known as “UNP 6-52”. Images from October 5 show at least 30 military vehicles that appear to belong to the IDF. New roads are visible and nearby orchards have been cleared, which has also happened during operations in Gaza.

Ireland’s Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) reported on October 6 the presence of an IDF position established near UNP 6-52. The Irish public broadcaster revealed that the IDF fired from this location on October 5 and had asked for the outposts to be destroyed. cleared.”

UNIFIL released a statement on October 6 saying it was “deeply concerned by the IDF’s recent activities immediately adjacent to the mission’s 6-52 position.” It stressed that it was “unacceptable to endanger the security of UN peacekeepers.”

UNIFIL’s mandate is not to enforce peace in the region, but to monitor it. It also supports the Lebanese army in keeping the area free of armed personnel.

The IDF did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

The Israeli military is conducting ground operations “because Hezbollah has built its network of attack infrastructure,” IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told RTÉ.

“To ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers, we have asked them to leave these places,” he said.

Images shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, also show the presence of IDF vehicles near the UNP 6-52 base. Similar images were also shared by the Irish Daily Mirror on October 6th.

Other websites damaged

The UNIFIL base was not the only area where the IDF presence was visible in the October 5 images. The nearby town of Maroun El Ras was also visibly damaged compared to previous images, with a park known as the “Iran Garden” appearing to be mostly destroyed after being damaged by airstrikes earlier in the year. Newly burned areas and IDF vehicles near new clearings can also be seen.

_{Caption: Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show changes in the landscape around the UNIFIL base between September 29 and October 5}

Planet Labs also released PlanetScope images from October 7, which are lower resolution than SkySat images but showed further damage to Maroun El Ras.

The village of Yaroun, located about 3.5 kilometers from Maroun El Ras, was captured in a drone video recorded at -50.

No SkySat images from Planet Labs were available for Yaroun, although the October 7 PlanetScope images show visible damage to the village compared to the September 30 images.

_{Caption: Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show changes in the landscape around the UNIFIL base between September 30 and October 7}

Bellingcat reached out to UNIFIL and asked whether it wanted to expand on its existing statements and whether it had received a response from the IDF after stating that it had communicated with them through existing channels.

UNIFIL did not respond before publication.

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