NAQOURA, Lebanon, July 25 (UPI) -- The U.N. mission in Lebanon remains a target amid Hezbollah-Israeli fighting, while U.N. agencies report difficulty moving humanitarian aid into Lebanon.
The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon said Tuesday four members of its Ghanaian battalion were injured Monday evening when a tank round from the Israeli side impacted inside their position south of Rmaich, causing severe damage. The four were evacuated to the UNIFIL hospital in Naqoura, and remain in stable condition.
There were six other attacks close to UNIFIL positions from the Israeli side during the past 24 hours, UNIFIL said.
The U.N. refugee agency meanwhile reports that it has been unable to move relief supplies intended for more than 20,000 displaced persons into Lebanon. The aid has been transported to the Syria-Lebanon border from a holding center in Jordon, but the agency awaits the opening of safe passages.
"It is enormously frustrating to be right on the back doorstep of Lebanon and ready to move in with hundreds of tons of aid, but the door remains closed," spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva. Once the agency is allowed safe access, Pagonis said, the supplies could reach Lebanese civilians in a matter of hours.
U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland is in the region to assess the humanitarian situation and negotiate the opening of humanitarian corridors. The trip took him to Lebanon Monday and to the Gaza Strip Tuesday. On Wednesday he will travel to the Israeli city of Haifa, which has been a steady target of Hezbollah missiles.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, also in the region, has appealed for better access for humanitarian workers seeking to deliver aid to Lebanese civilians caught in the crossfire.
