“Even as UNIFIL investigators are working on the case, it is clear that the presence of Israeli soldiers in Lebanon in violation of the Blue Line constitutes a serious breach of the terms of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701,” Serra said in a statement.

“UNIFIL has strongly protested the violation to the Israeli [Army] and called for its full cooperation with UNIFIL’s investigations into the incident,” he added.

Four Israeli forces were injured Wednesday morning by a landmine explosion after they trespassed the border into southern Lebanon.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon has launched an investigation into the incident.

“Given the seriousness of the incident, it is very important for UNIFIL to establish what exactly happened that night,” Serra said.

“This requires full cooperation from both the parties and accordingly we have also asked the LAF [Lebanese Army] Command to provide us with any relevant information it might have in this connection,” he said.

Serra also noted that the findings from the UNIFIL probe would be presented to both sides at the upcoming tripartite meeting later this month.

“UNIFIL’s primary objective is to determine the precise nature of the violation of resolution 1701 so that we can work with the parties to prevent any recurrence of such incidents or any related tensions that could escalate the situation,” he said.

Following the incident, Israeli forces set fire on woodlands in South Lebanon near the border.

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), civil defense and Lebanese army units rushed to check the fire in Houla district.

MRKD/NJF