Israel will keep striking Hezbollah across Lebanon, Netanyahu says: Live updates | CNN

Over the past week, the UN said that the Israeli military fired on its peacekeepers, forcibly entered its base, stopped logistics and injured more than a dozen of its troops in southern Lebanon.

Israel’s attacks on the peacekeeping mission, which has operated in Lebanon for more than 45 years, have been widely condemned by the international community. UNIFIL — the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon — has called the violations “shocking” while Israel has accused Hezbollah of operating in areas near UNIFIL posts.

So, what is UNIFIL and what does it do?

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established by the UN Security Council following Israel’s first invasion into southern Lebanon in 1978.

Its mandate was to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the country, restore international peace and security, and assist the Lebanese government to restore its effective authority in the area. In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon for a second time and subsequently established a security zone inside the country, which remained until its withdrawal in 2000.

In 2000 UNIFIL established the Blue Line — an area spanning 120 kilometers (around 75 miles) along southern Lebanon to ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. It acts as a de-facto border between the two countries since Lebanon and Israel have an ongoing border dispute.

The mission is made up of more than 10,000 personnel from 50 countries, the majority of whom are troops. Indonesia, Italy, India, Nepal, Ghana and Malaysia contribute the most troops. The UNIFIL troops are tasked with monitoring border violations and keeping the area, which includes Hezbollah strongholds — secure.

Read more about UNIFIL and what it does.