German warship serving UNIFIL downs drone off Lebanon

By Rachel More

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German warship operating as part of the United Nations' UNIFIL peacekeeping mission shot down a drone off the coast of Lebanon on Thursday, the German defence ministry told Reuters, as unease builds over the safety of the U.N. troops in the country.

UNIFIL positions have come under fire in Lebanon since Israel launched a ground operation against Hezbollah militants on Oct. 1, raising alarm among European governments participating in the mission.

"The corvette brought an unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) into the water in a controlled crash," the spokesperson said, reporting no damage to the German vessel or its crew.

The corvette Ludwigshafen am Rhein is continuing its duties, he added.

A spokesperson for the Bundeswehr military's joint operations command said the object of unknown origin was targeted by defence systems.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said on X that a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) had approached one of its ships off the southern Lebanon coast earlier on Thursday. "In accordance with procedure, electronic countermeasures were used and the UAV fell and exploded on its own. We are looking into the matter," he said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the incident.

CALL TO WITHDRAW

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the U.N. to withdraw its troops and called allegations that Israel is deliberating targeting the peacekeepers "completely false".

Five peacekeepers have been injured, according to the U.N.

"We call on everyone not to obstruct UNIFIL in the implementation of its mandate. This is the unanimous opinion of the German government, the European Union and ultimately also the United Nations," a foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday.

Germany's involvement in the mission focuses on patrolling the waters off Lebanon, with around 150 soldiers deployed on average, according to the Bundeswehr military.

The aerial object was targeted north-west of a UNIFIL base in Naqoura, far from the coast but close to the German warship, the dpa news agency reported, citing the German joint operations command.

Parts of the drone were recovered for investigation, according to the report, which the German military declined to comment on.

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Emma Farge in Geneva; Editing by Kirsti Knolle, Toby Chopra, Alexandra Hudson)

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