A French soldier serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) is dead and three of his colleagues are wounded, two seriously, after their patrol came under small-arms fire in southern Lebanon. Officials from the peacekeeping force described the incident as a deliberate attack, a sentiment echoed by France's Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin, who said the team was ambushed at very close range while on a mission to reopen access to a cut-off Unifil position. The soldier was reportedly hit immediately by a direct shot and could not be revived.
French President Emmanuel Macron wasted no time in assigning blame, stating that everything suggests responsibility lies with Hezbollah and demanding Lebanese authorities arrest the perpetrators. The Iran-backed armed group, however, issued a statement on Saturday denying any connection to the incident, calling the accusations rushed and baseless, and urging caution pending the Lebanese army's investigation. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack in a phone call with Macron, promising justice, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has ordered an investigation.
The attack occurred in the village of Ghanduriyah, where the Unifil patrol was clearing explosive ordnance along a road to reconnect isolated positions. Unifil said the fire came from what it described as non-state actors. The Lebanese Armed Forces noted the incident followed exchanges of fire with armed individuals and emphasized close coordination with Unifil during what it called a sensitive phase in the region. This comes amid heightened tensions since renewed fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on 2 March, despite a 10-day ceasefire that began on 16 April, a deal announced by the US which urged Hezbollah to abide by its terms.
This is not an isolated tragedy for the peacekeeping mission. In late March, three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in separate incidents involving an explosion that destroyed a Unifil vehicle and a projectile strike a day earlier. Unifil sternly reminded all actors that deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law and could amount to war crimes. The force, first established in 1978 after Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon, has seen more than 330 peacekeepers killed since its inception. Its role was expanded after the 2006 war via UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which strengthened its responsibilities in monitoring the ceasefire along the Blue Line, the de facto border, in coordination with the Lebanese army.