The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) denounced the IDF for dropping non-toxic chemical substances near the Blue Line in a Monday statement.
The Blue Line demarcates a line dividing Lebanon from Israel, where the IDF withdrew to in June 2000 following the occupation of southern Lebanon, and is a "temporary line of withdrawal," rather than a recognized border.
The IDF told UNIFIL on Sunday morning that it would carry out the aerial activity, dropping the substances, and noted that members of the force should "stay away and remain under cover." However, this "forced" UNIFIL to "cancel over a dozen activities," the peacekeeping force said.
UNIFIL asserted that soldiers could not perform normal operations along approximately 1/3 of the Blue Line, and were only able to resume normal operational activity after nine hours.
After the incident, UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces collected samples for toxicity testing.
"This activity was unacceptable and contrary to Resolution 1701," UNIFIL stated. "The IDF's deliberate and planned actions not only limited peacekeepers’ ability to undertake their mandated activities, but also potentially put their health and that of civilians at risk. It also raised concerns about the effects of this unknown chemical on local agricultural lands, and how this might impact the return of civilians to their homes and livelihoods in the long-term."
IDF strikes Hezbollah terrorists, infrastructure in southern Lebanon
Separately on Monday, the IDF confirmed that it struck and killed Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.
One strike was carried out against Ali al-Hadi Mustafa al-Haqqani, a senior officer in the terror group's aerial array.
According to the IDF, he had recently been involved in attempts to rehabilitate military infrastructure belonging to the terror group's aerial defense arrays.
In a separate strike, the military killed another Hezbollah terrorist working to rehabilitate the terror group's military infrastructure.
Further strikes were carried out on several weapons depots belonging to Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.
The IDF stated that one of these depots was located "in the heart of a civilian population," adding that the terror group is "cynically using civilians as human shields."
The IDF stated that it published warnings among other steps to reduce the likelihood of harm to civilians in the area.
IDF kills terrorist near Gaza's Yellow Line
Additionally, soldiers from the IDF's Alexandroni Brigade, which is operating in the northern Gaza Strip, identified four terrorists operating near the Yellow Line, and advancing towards soldiers, posing an immediate threat, the military confirmed on Monday.
The soldiers killed the terrorists in order to remove any threat they posed to the military, the IDF confirmed.