UNIFIL peacekeepers patrol the border with Israel near the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Dec. 4, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Ali Hashisho.

Israel’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations filed an official complaint with the Security Council on Monday after Hezbollah terrorists allegedly slipped over the border from Lebanon last month.

In a letter to the Security Council, Gilad Erdan — the newly-installed Israeli UN envoy — shared intelligence proving that Hezbollah operatives infiltrated into Israel in the July 27 incident despite the presence of UN peacekeepers.

A photo attached to the letter showed “evidence of the terrorist cell’s route from Lebanon to the Mount Dov area in Israel via the Blue Line [the UN-demarcated border with Israel], contrary to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah’s false claims that no such infiltration took place,” a statement from the Israeli mission noted.

The photo published by the Israeli UN mission.

The Israeli letter of protest came amid reports that the US was threatening to veto the extension of the mandate of UNIFIL — the UN force first established in 1978 — on the grounds that it had failed to stop Hezbollah’s consolidation in southern Lebanon.

Israel and the US were now “leading a joint diplomatic effort to change the UNIFIL mandate so that it functions as an effective force, including broadening access and oversight capabilities in areas where Hezbollah operates,” the Israeli statement said.

“Hezbollah’s terrorist operations, which violate Security Council resolutions, could lead to disaster and wreak havoc on Lebanon,” Ambassador Erdan said. “The role of the UNIFIL force is to prevent these operations and to prevent Hezbollah from turning southern Lebanon into its own terrorist base. If UNIFIL is unable to fulfill this mission, then its existence should be in doubt.”