Three United Nations peacekeepers suffered light injuries Sunday, the UN said, in an explosion near their vehicle close to Lebanon’s southern border, where the Hezbollah terror group has been trading near-daily fire with Israeli forces for the last 10 months.

The UN peacekeepers had been on patrol in the southern Lebanon village of Yarine when an explosion occurred near their clearly marked UN vehicle, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said of the incident.

“All peacekeepers in the patrol returned safely to their base,” Tenenti said, without giving further details of the nature of the explosion or accusing any party.

He said that the UN body was “looking into the incident,” reminding “all parties and actors of their responsibility to avoid harm to peacekeepers and civilians.”

Although Lebanese media was quick to claim that the explosion was the result of an Israeli strike, there was no indication that this was the case and UNIFIL did not refer to the accusation.

Nevertheless, the IDF said it was looking into the incident, which marked the second time in recent months that UN peacekeeping forces were wounded in a blast in southern Lebanon.

In March, Lebanese security officials and Hezbollah-affiliated media blamed Israel for an incident in which four UN military observers were wounded when a shell exploded near their vehicle outside of the southern border town of Rmeish.

The IDF later said, however, that the information available to the military had indicated that the peacekeepers were hit by a Hezbollah roadside bomb.

Escalating Tensions on the Lebanon-Israel Border

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid Israel’s war with Hamas.

Earlier today, three peacekeepers on patrol were lightly injured when an explosion occurred near their clearly marked UN vehicle in the vicinity of Yarine, in south Lebanon All peacekeepers in the patrol returned safely to their base.

— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) August 18, 2024

So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 18 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.

Hezbollah has named 412 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 72 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.

On Sunday afternoon, the IDF said a barrage of 20 rockets had been fired from Lebanon at the Kiryat Shmona area in northern Israel.

The IDF said some of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, and there were no reports of injuries.

Across the border in southern Lebanon, the military said the Israeli Air Force had carried out a series of strikes on Hezbollah sites and operatives.

In the town of Shebaa, the IDF said it had carried out a drone strike against a Hezbollah cell, while a fighter jet carried out a strike on a weapons depot.

Another weapons depot and a building used by the terror group were stuck in Ayta ash-Shab and Matmoura, the IDF said, and a rocket launcher was hit in at-Tiri.

The Israeli Air Force carried out a series of strikes on Hezbollah sites and operatives in southern Lebanon today, the military says.

In the town of Chebaa, the IDF says it carried out a drone strike against a Hezbollah cell and a fighter jet strike against a weapons depot.… pic.twitter.com/ku5ERIfHU3

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 18, 2024

Calls for Restraint Amidst Fears of Escalation

The northern front has been bracing for an escalation for several weeks now, after Israel killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr on July 30 in the wake of a deadly Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Golan Heights.

To that end, the Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Sunday that Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had called on Hezbollah to exercise restraint in its attacks on Israel, amid ongoing efforts to negotiate a hostage release-ceasefire deal in Gaza.

During a visit to Beirut on Friday, Cairo’s top diplomat held meetings with Lebanese officials and conveyed a message to leaders of Hezbollah, urging it not to jeopardize the ceasefire talks.

In exchange for the Iran-backed terror group’s restraint, Abdelatty reportedly promised an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza, which would “ease the pressure” on Hamas, along with unspecified “facilitations” from the United States on other issues related to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Lebanese officials were said to have responded positively to the Egyptian demands, on the condition that the ongoing ceasefire talks in Gaza lead to a favorable outcome.

The Human Cost of the Conflict

The fear of an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to be shared by civilians on both sides of the border, with the head of Lebanon’s  National Emergency Committee Nasser Yassin telling Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Sunday that the country had food reserves sufficient for four months and fuel for four weeks.

Yassin, who is also Lebanon’s environment minister, told the Qatari outlet that simulations conducted by the National Emergency Committee had shown that in the event of a large-scale attack by Israel, there would be enough medicine to supply the hospitals for several weeks.

Lebanon has not registered hikes in food prices despite widespread fears of an escalation, Yassin said, but there have been significant increases in rental prices in areas that witnessed a high influx of displaced people from the country’s south.

Only 2 percent of them moved to government-run shelters, while the remaining 98% relocated into homes, either with relatives or rented, Yassin said.

He said that although the Lebanese government would not be able to rebuild the houses of those who have lost them in the cross-border attacks or provide compensation, the government has paid handouts to families of war casualties.

He said that so far, over 102,000 people have fled the border region. In Israel, estimates have placed the number of displaced civilians from the north of the country at around 80,000.

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.