LONDON, October 22. /TASS/. The use of incendiary munitions containing white phosphorus by the Israel Defense Forces caused injuries to 15 UN peacekeepers, the Financial Times reported.

The newspaper cited a confidential report - prepared by a country that contributes troops to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL - outlining a dozen recent incidents in which the IDF attacked international forces in Lebanon.

According to the report, in some of the incidents several facilities used by peacekeepers sustained damage, and Israeli soldiers forcibly entered a UNIFIL base.

UNIFIL has criticized these incidents as a "flagrant violation of international law." The Israeli military did not respond to a FT request for comment, but Israel has rejected accusations that it deliberately targeted UNIFIL.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7, accompanied by killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking hostages, including children, women and elderly people. In response, Israel declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started delivering strikes on that area and parts of Lebanon and Syria. That was followed by an Israeli ground operation in the enclave.

On September 23, Israel started a military operation codenamed Northern Arrows against Hezbollah in Lebanon, carrying out widespread strikes at the group’s military sites. In a strike on September 27 Israel eliminated Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. In the early hours of October 1, Israel announced the start of a ground operation in the border areas of southern Lebanon.