Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, demanded on Sunday that Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN, remove peacekeepers stationed in south Lebanon from “harm’s way,” alleging Hezbollah was using them as “human shields.”

A day after the UN Interim Force in Lebanon refused to leave the border region despite five of its troops being injured in recent combat, he made a plea to Guterres.

“Mister Secretary General, remove the UNIFIL forces from danger.” In his initial remarks on the matter, Netanyahu stated in a video message released by his office that “it should be done right now, immediately.”

Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting, he said that although Israeli soldiers had urged UNIFIL to withdraw on many occasions, they had been “met with repeated refusals,” which gave Hezbollah terrorists a “human shield.”