Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen on Monday accused the United Nations’ UNIFIL peacekeepers in south Lebanon of being a useless force that failed to protect Israeli citizens from Hezbollah attacks and called on it to withdraw as fighting ramps up.

“The State of Israel will do everything to ensure the safety of its citizens, and if the UN cannot help, at least it should not interfere, and move its personnel from the combat zones,” he said on X.

Accusations have been flying between Israel and the United Nations over its peacekeepers in south Lebanon, as Israel pushes its force through the area, determined to wipe out Iran-backed Hezbollah and its military infrastructure.

The UN said Israeli tanks had burst into its base on Sunday, the latest allegations of Israeli violations against peacekeeping forces, as Hezbollah unleashed a deadly “swarm of drones” on an Israeli military camp.

Israel disputed the UN account and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the peacekeepers to withdraw, saying they were providing “human shields” for Hezbollah during an upsurge in hostilities.

The UNIFIL peacekeeping force said two Israeli Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate of a base and forcibly entered before dawn on Sunday. After the tanks left, shells exploded 100 metres (yards) away, releasing smoke which blew across the base and sickened UN personnel, it said in a statement.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah militants had fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops, wounding 25 of them. The attack was very close to a UNIFIL post and a tank helping evacuate the casualties under fire then backed into the UNIFIL post, it said.

Netanyahu said in a statement addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: “The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones.”

Hezbollah denies it uses the proximity of peacekeepers for protection.

UNIFIL has said previous Israeli attacks on a watchtower, cameras, communications equipment and lighting had limited its monitoring abilities. UN sources say they fear any violations of international law in the conflict will be impossible to monitor.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a call on Sunday with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, “reinforced the importance of Israel taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces,” according to a readout of the call.

FIGHTING RAMPS UP

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah resumed a year ago when the Iranian-backed group began firing rockets at Israeli positions in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war and has sharply escalated in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Hezbollah said it attacked a camp of the Israeli military’s Golani Brigade camp in Binyamina in northern Israel with a “swarm of drones”.

Israel’s military said four of its soldiers were killed and seven severely injured in the incident.

The Middle East, meanwhile, remains on high alert for Israel to retaliate against Iran for an October 1 barrage of long-range missiles launched in response to Israel's assaults on Lebanon.

The Pentagon said on Sunday it would send US troops to Israel along with an advanced US anti-missile system, as Israel weighs its expected retaliation against Iran.

Washington has been privately urging Israel to calibrate its response to avoid triggering a broader war in the Middle East, officials say.