German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius looks on during a press statement on a visit the German Airforce Base Holzdorf to get informed about the projects of heavy transport helicopters and the anti-ballistic missiles ARROW in Holzdorf, Germany October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Oct 19 (Reuters) - German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius travelled to Lebanon on Thursday to visit German soldiers serving in a U.N. peacekeeping force in the region in the wake of a major escalation between neighbouring Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Berlin has deployed some 140 soldiers on a corvette off the Lebanese coast and at the headquarters of the UNIFIL mission in southern Lebanon that was hit by a rocket on Sunday without causing casualties. UNIFIL has operated in Lebanon since 1978 to maintain peace along the border with Israel and was expanded by the U.N. resolution that halted the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Friederike Heine, Editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Boris Pistorius, German Airforce Base Holzdorf, Annegret, Sabine Siebold, Friederike Heine, Rachel More Organizations: German, German Airforce Base, REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, UNIFIL, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Holzdorf, Germany, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian, Berlin, Gaza