Canadian military members safe after reports of damage at UN peacekeeping camp

Canadian Armed Forces members deployed in the Middle East are safe after a missile was intercepted on Sunday near the Israel-Lebanon border, the defence minister’s office says.

A spokesperson for Defence Minister David McGuinty says Canada’s military received reports about damage at Camp Naqoura — a strategic headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

Our CAF members deployed on Operation Jade are safe and accounted for, McGuinty’s press secretary Maya Ouferhat said in a statement.

It’s unclear how many Canadian Armed Forces members are currently deployed on Operation Jade — the longest-running commitment overseas that started in the 1950s. McGuinty’s office said in its statement it won’t provide further details, citing operational security reasons.

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The government’s website last updated in 2024 said there were four officers deployed at the time on the mission serving as United Nations military observers. A senior Canadian Armed Forces officer also joined the task force upon request, the website says.

McGuinty’s office says the deployment figures published online can change depending on operational requirements.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon is a peacekeeping force made up of more than 10,000 members tasked with helping keep the peace in southern Lebanon.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a UN-proposed ceasefire in 2006 to end the war. But the peacekeeping force found itself in the middle of conflict after war broke out again in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

The peacekeepers were attacked by Israel, which accused them of being in the way.

Days after Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, the war in the Middle East expanded in early March when Hezbollah launched a barrage of missiles toward Israel.

Israel’s military campaign escalated in recent days) after it struck a bridge linking Lebanon’s south to the rest of the country and ordered its military to destroy crossings and demolish homes near the southern border.

The Canadian government publicly released information about reports of damage at the UN peacekeeping camp after facing criticism from the Conservatives earlier this month.

Conservative defence critic James Bezan called it shameful the government didn’t tell the public about a reported Iranian missile strike on an airbase in Kuwait where Canadian Armed Forces members are stationed. No Canadian military members were injured.

Since then, McGuinty’s office confirmed on Friday that Canadian military members and civilians are among the personnel NATO pulled out of Iraq as the country faces retaliatory attacks from Iran along with other Gulf countries during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.