A Unifil peacekeeping mission spokesperson has denounced several direct, deliberate attacks by Israeli forces in recent days and said it had found evidence of the possible use of white phosphorous near one of its bases, Reuters reports.

“We need to stay, they asked us to move,” said Unifil spokesperson Andrea Tenenti by video link from Beirut.

“The devastation and destruction of many villages along the Blue Line, and even beyond, is shocking,” he said, referring to a UN-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israel-occupied Golan Heights.

According to Tenenti, an investigation several months ago had detected “a trace of the possible use of white phosphorous” by the Israeli army close to a Unifil base. He added that the UN Security Council was aware of the case.