Two Indonesians were injured in Israel’s attack on the headquarters of UN peacekeepers in the Middle East and Africa

Italy and Ireland, which have troops deployed, called the shooting unacceptable.

It is the most serious incident the mission has reported since it said last week it had rejected Israeli demands to “relocate” some of its positions.

UNIFIL, which has around 10,000 peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon, has called for a ceasefire since the escalation between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on September 23 following a year of cross-border fire.

“This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon at an observation tower at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall,” the mission said, using an acronym for the Israeli one Military.

The two peacekeepers did not suffer serious injuries, “but they remain in hospital,” it said.

A UNIFIL spokeswoman said they were Indonesians.

The defense minister of Italy, which along with Indonesia is one of the largest troop contributors to UNIFIL, described the “shooting” as “unbearable”.

Guido Crosetto said he “protested to my Israeli counterpart and the Israeli ambassador to Italy.”

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, whose country is contributing about 370 soldiers to the mission, said “any fire near UNIFIL troops or facilities is reckless and must stop.”

According to UNIFIL, the Israeli military also attacked another position in Ras Naqura, further south, on Thursday.

UNIFIL said it “hit the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering and damaged vehicles and a communications system.”

The mission added that an Israeli military drone “was observed flying inside the UN position up to the bunker entrance.”

UNIFIL headquarters and nearby positions were “repeatedly hit,” the mission said.

On Wednesday, “IDF soldiers intentionally shot at and disabled surveillance cameras around a position,” UNIFIL added.

“They also continued to shoot deliberately [a site] where regular trilateral meetings were held before the conflict began, causing damage to lighting and a relay station.”

UNIFIL said last week that the Israeli military had asked peacekeepers to “relocate” some positions before beginning ground operations in Lebanon.

The peacekeeping mission rejected the request, which Irish President Michael Higgins called “an insult to the most important global institution.”

On Sunday, UNIFIL warned that Israeli operations near one of its positions southeast of Maroun al-Ras were “extremely dangerous” and threatened the safety of blue helmets.

Maroun al-Ras is located about 27 kilometers east of Naqura.

According to official figures, Israel has attacked Hezbollah positions in Lebanon in the last two weeks, killing more than 1,200 people and forcing more than a million people from their homes.

It said it was carrying out “limited” attacks across the northern border, while Hezbollah repeatedly said it was firing on Israeli soldiers attempting to advance in the area.

Earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah said it had destroyed an Israeli tank advancing toward Ras al-Naqura and that it had fired rockets at Israeli troops who then tried to recover their wounded.

The Iran-backed group also said it fired rockets at Israeli troops in another Lebanese border area, Mais al-Jabal.

It said it fired rockets at several areas in northern Israel, including an area north of the city of Haifa.

UNIFIL was founded in 1978 to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in retaliation for a Palestinian attack.

It was strengthened in Security Council Resolution 1701 after Hezbollah and Israel fought a war in 2006, and its peacekeepers are tasked with monitoring the ceasefire between the two sides.