Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pressed his Israeli counterpart to take steps to prevent IDF soldiers from firing at UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, the Pentagon said on Friday, while three European leaders issued a joint statement condemning Israel's attacks.

Israel has acknowledged that shots fired by its military injured two UN troops in southern Lebanon. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it struck the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) base on Friday when troops identified an "immediate threat against them" nearby and opened fire.

Israeli airstrikes hit the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force and other positions in south Lebanon in recent days, drawing widespread condemnation from around the world. The force, known as UNIFIL,