The situation of the 650 Spanish soldiers deployed in the south of Lebanon on an international mission is becoming "untenable" as the escalation of hostility between Israel and Hezbollah progresses, according to military sources familiar with the daily conditions of the deployment of the United Nations. The Spanish troops are experiencing moments of "serious risk", after the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian militia have stopped warning of their attacks with a margin of advance - as they used to do. This unannounced crossfire is causing the blue helmets to spend "almost half the day locked in bunkers" without being able to carry out the assigned mission: patrolling the so-called Blue, the border between Lebanon and Israel set by the UN.
This week, after Iran's attack on Israel - which the latter was able to repel -, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, showed her concern for "the difficult situation" that the military is experiencing Spaniards in southern Lebanon. He praised the "great job" carried out by the troops, but warned from the Almirante frigate - which was stopped at the port of Helsinki (Finland) - that maintaining peace in the area is highly complicated. However, the military sources consulted aggravate the reality that Spanish uniformed officers face in their day-to-day life, that they have suffered several serious incidents even though their lives have not been feared.
The UN peacekeeping mission has been fading since the Hamas attack on Israeli territory in October. Foot patrols were stopped because of the enormous danger to which the soldiers would be exposed along the Blue Line. These patrols were carried out only in vehicles, but over the course of these months some of these vehicles have received shots from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Like the incident that happened at the end of November in the vicinity of Aitarun, in the south of the country.
Growing external hostility added to doubts about the safety offered by the armored BMR used by Spanish soldiers. It was the then director of the National Security Department of the Central Government (DSN), General Miguel Ángel Ballesteros, who warned of the fragility of these vehicles. "They circulate, they patrol, yes... but when they put a modern explosive, which is what the Taliban or other terrorists have, the BMR cannot withstand it, it does not withstand it and it has not withstood it, there have been dead", he assured in statements that created discomfort in the Ministry of Defense.
Now the patrols are reduced to the minimum expression. The turning point was marked three weeks ago, when three UN observers – a Norwegian, a Chilean and an Australian – and the translator accompanying them were injured by a shell that hit near their positions in an unannounced release.
Before the escalation of tension, the blue helmets had the margin that gave the warning to be able to take refuge in the bunkers that protect them from the crossfire. Despite this, the international barracks have not escaped damage.
It was General Aroldo Lázaro himself, the Spaniard in command who has been at the head of the international mission since 2022, who moved to the south-east of Lebanon to check the impact of the exchanges of fire between the militias and the Israeli army . "Given the real danger of an escalation, we emphasize: only a political and diplomatic solution is viable. We call on everyone to lay down their arms so that people can return," the general asked via social media.
Spain, which has participated in the mission since 2006 after Congress approved the sending of 1,000 soldiers, is not currently considering a redeployment to Lebanon, according to Defense sources. During these 18 years there have been 16 Spaniards in the mission.
