UNIFIL organizes Christmas gathering in Qana, honors victims of Israeli attacks

Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Claudio Graziano said peacekeepers were “working to the best of their abilities to ensure peace and stability in South Lebanon.” “Even if we are required to face challenging and most of the time unforeseeable situations, we will never lose our track, resolve and commitment for peace,” Graziano said during a Christmas gathering organized by the UNIFIL at the Southern village of Qana.

“The place chosen for this event is highly significant as the history of the conflict, which we are here to prevent, intertwined with the tragic fate of so many innocent civilians from Qana … Let us take moment to remember those people on this very special occasion today,” he added.

Israeli missiles hit the Southern town of Qana twice in 1996 during the “Grapes of Wrath” operation and again during the summer 2006 war, killing dozens of civilians, the majority of whom were children.

The UNIFIL forces held a number of events to mark Christmas and share with the Southerners the spirit of the end-of-year festivities.

School principal Atef Monzer thanked the Indian battalion “for the whole range of humanitarian activities being conducted by them in the school and in surrounding areas.”

The Christmas event was attended by Graziano and his wife.

Speaking to reporters following the function, the head of UNIFIL said the situation in the South was “under control,” adding that the peacekeepers “enjoy mingling and cooperating with the Southerners.”

He refused to comment on the one-year-old political deadlock, saying it was “a strictly Lebanese concern and has nothing to do with the UNIFIL.”

Picture: A UN soldier dressed up as Santa Claus offers a gift to a Lebanese boy in Ebel al-Saqi.(AFP/ALI DIA)