An international peacekeeper was killed and two others were wounded after mortar shells landed on a site belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) near the southern district of Marjayoun, hours after Washington announced a ceasefire in Lebanon.
UNIFIL confirmed that the soldier died at dawn on Thursday from his wounds, after being airlifted to a hospital in Beirut after being seriously injured on Wednesday evening, while the other two soldiers are receiving treatment at a medical facility affiliated with the UN force.
In a statement issued on Thursday, June 4, UNIFIL said the shells landed directly on a UNIFIL operational site, causing human and material damage, without revealing the nationalities of the targeted soldiers.
It said it had launched an immediate investigation to determine the source of the fire, adding that the area had seen a "significant increase" in projectiles in recent days, raising the risk to civilians and UN personnel deployed in the south.
UNIFIL calls for immediate ceasefire
In its statement, ISAF expressed "deep sadness" over the soldier's death and offered its condolences to his family and colleagues, wishing a speedy recovery to the wounded.
It stressed that the protection of UN personnel is a legal and moral responsibility of all parties, calling for an immediate cessation of violence and adherence to international humanitarian law.
UNIFIL reiterated its call on the competent Lebanese authorities to open a formal investigation into the incident, stressing that the targeting of peacekeepers – whether deliberate or the result of indiscriminate shooting – constitutes a serious violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and may amount to war crimes.
It called on all parties to take urgent steps to ensure the security of United Nations personnel and property, and to refrain from any actions that might endanger them.
Hezbollah remains silent
At dawn on Thursday, a Lebanese-American-Israeli statement said that Beirut and Tel Aviv agreed at the end of a round of negotiations in Washington to implement a ceasefire based on a complete ceasefire and the evacuation of all its elements from the area south of the Litani in southern Lebanon.
While there was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the trilateral statement, the Israeli military announced Thursday that fighting was continuing in southern Lebanon.
3 UNIFIL soldiers killed in April
On Friday, April 24, UNIFIL announced the death of a soldier from the Indonesian battalion as a result of injuries sustained by a projectile explosion inside its base in southern Lebanon.
The force said in a statement that Corporal Rico Barmudia (31 years old) died in a Beirut hospital, after being seriously injured by a projectile explosion inside his base in the town of Adchit al-Qusayr on the night of March 29.
UNIFIL announced on Saturday (April 18th) that one of its soldiers was killed and three others, including two in serious condition, were wounded after its patrol came under fire from "non-governmental actors" in southern Lebanon.
French President Emmanuel Macron commented on the incident at the time, announcing the death of First Sergeant Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineering Regiment, and the wounding of three other soldiers, saying that "the data indicate that the responsibility for this attack belongs to Hezbollah", calling on the Lebanese authorities to arrest the perpetrators immediately and to cooperate fully with UNIFIL.
What are UNIFIL forces?
UNIFIL is the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), an international United Nations peacekeeping mission deployed in southern Lebanon, established in 1978 by Security Council resolutions 425 and 426, following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon that year.
Its primary tasks are to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, to restore international peace and security in the region and to assist the Government of Lebanon in extending its effective authority in the south.
After the 2006 war, UNIFIL's mandate was strengthened by Security Council Resolution 1701 to include monitoring the cessation of hostilities, supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces in its deployment to the south, and ensuring humanitarian access, consisting of approximately 10,000 troops from some 50 countries, as well as civilian personnel and a naval force monitoring the Lebanese coast.
As for its scope of deployment, it operates in the area between the Litani River in the north and the Blue Line (between Lebanon and Israel) in the south, and its headquarters are located in the town of Naqoura.