The lethal incident comes simply days after Israel and Lebanon introduced a 10-day ceasefire.
Revealed On 18 Apr 2026
A French soldier serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has been killed, and three others had been wounded in an assault that UNIFIL and French officers stated was seemingly carried out by Hezbollah.
Three different members of the peacekeeping mission had been wounded within the assault within the village of Ghandouriyeh in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL stated on Saturday, two of them critically.
Beneficial Tales
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UNIFIL famous that preliminary assessments indicated they got here from non-state actors, allegedly Hezbollah, and that an investigation had been launched into what it known as “a deliberate assault”.
In calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “unacceptable assault”, his workplace stated in a press release on Saturday.
Macron additionally stated the proof up to now pointed to the Lebanese armed group and urged the Lebanese authorities to behave towards these accountable.
The Iran-aligned armed group rejected the allegations, calling for “exercising warning in issuing judgements relating to the incident”.
“We deny any connection to us with the incident that occurred with UNIFIL forces within the Ghandouriyeh space in Bint Jbeil,” Hezbollah stated in a press release.
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin stated the patrol was ambushed whereas on a mission to open a path to a UNIFIL submit that had been remoted by combating within the space. The soldier was killed by direct small-arms fireplace, she stated.
Lebanon’s military condemned the capturing and stated it had opened an investigation.
President Aoun has additionally provided condolences and ordered a right away probe, whereas Prime Minister Salam condemned the assault.
Fragile ceasefire
The lethal incidents come simply days after an Israel-Lebanon 10-day ceasefire took impact and days earlier than a truce within the United States-Israel struggle on Iran was set to run out.
Lebanon was drawn into the struggle in early March after Hezbollah fired rockets in direction of Israel in response to the US-Israeli killing of Iranian Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei on February 28. Israel responded with a devastating bombing marketing campaign and a floor invasion that killed greater than 2,000 individuals and compelled greater than 1.2 million others from their properties.
The declaration of a ceasefire in Lebanon was seen as a lift to efforts for an settlement to finish the US-Israel struggle on Iran. Pakistani International Minister Ishaq Dar stated combating between Israel and Hezbollah had been a key sticking level in US-Iran talks final weekend in Islamabad.
It was not clear whether or not Hezbollah would abide by a truce it didn’t play a task in negotiating, particularly when it leaves Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Assaults on peacekeepers
UNIFIL, the UN Interim Power in Lebanon, was first deployed in 1978 alongside the border between Israel and Lebanon and has remained by way of successive conflicts, together with a 2024 struggle throughout which its positions got here underneath repeated fireplace.
Final month, two UN peacekeepers had been killed in southern Lebanon amid Israel’s floor invasion of the nation. UNFIL stated they had been killed when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their car.
World leaders have condemned the escalating violence and assaults on peacekeepers.
Final month, in a submit on X, UN Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres known as on all events to the struggle to abide by worldwide legislation and make sure the safety of all UN personnel.
“This is only one of quite a few latest incidents which have jeopardized the security & safety of peacekeepers,” Guterres had stated.
