An Indonesian soldier killed and another wounded from UNIFIL by a shell

The Israeli army announces that 6 of its soldiers were wounded by guided missiles from Hezbollah.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced that a peacekeeper was killed after a shell exploded at one of its positions near the town of Adshit al-Qusayr in southern Lebanon on Sunday. In a statement issued on Monday, it added that another soldier was seriously wounded.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that the fallen peacekeeper was an Indonesian national, adding that three others were injured by indirect artillery fire around the site of the Indonesian UNIFIL battalion near Adshit al-Qusayr. UNIFIL stated: “We do not know the source of the shell. We have launched an investigation to determine all the circumstances of the incident.”

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, strongly condemned the incident, stating that attacks on peacekeepers constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. He called for accountability and urged all parties to ensure the safety of United Nations personnel.

UNIFIL is deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the Blue Line, which forms the demarcation line with Israel, an area at the heart of clashes between the Israeli army and fighters of Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

The mission, whose mandate expires at the end of 2026, has intermittently come under fire from both Israel and Hezbollah over the past two years.

On March 6, the Ghanaian Armed Forces said that the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping battalion in Lebanon came under rocket attack, resulting in serious injuries to two soldiers.

The Israeli army later acknowledged that tank fire had struck a United Nations site in southern Lebanon that day, injuring Ghanaian peacekeepers.

The army stated that its forces had responded to anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah, which resulted in the wounding of 6 soldiers, including 3 seriously.

UNIFIL said: “Once again, we call on all parties to fulfill their obligations under international law and to ensure at all times the safety and security of United Nations personnel and property, including refraining from actions that could endanger peacekeepers.”

Hebrew media reported that Israel intercepted 5 rockets at dawn on Monday, saying they were launched from Lebanon toward the city of Haifa in the north.

Channel 12 reported that the interceptions at dawn on Monday involved “5 rockets launched from Lebanon toward Haifa,” without further details.

In the same context, Hezbollah announced that it targeted the Israeli site of Mishmar HaCarmel, south of Haifa, “with a salvo of qualitative rockets,” without providing further details.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Tehran, two days after Israel and the United States attacked Iran. This Hezbollah attack was followed by a new Israeli campaign against the group.