- Title: Three UN peacekeepers killed in Lebanon as Israeli strikes pummel south
- Date: 31st March 2026
- Summary: NAQOURA, LEBANON (MARCH 31, 2026) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIFIL'S SPOKESPERSON, KANDICE ARDIEL, SAYING: "On Sunday night, a projectile hit one of our bases near Adchit al-Qusayr, and two peacekeepers who were nearby were very seriously injured. One of them, unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries later that night, and the other was airlifted to hospital in Beirut
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: CRISIS IRAN LEBANON SOUTHERN LEBANON UNIFIL
- Location: VARIOUS, LEBANON
- City: VARIOUS, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA007889731032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:UNIFIL's spokesperson Kandice Ardiel told Reuters on Tuesday (March 31) that two investigations were launched after three United Nations peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon.
Two peacekeepers were killed on Monday (March 30) after an explosion from an unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon, the U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL said in a statement. Two other soldiers were wounded in the blast.
Another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight Sunday into Monday when a projectile exploded near one of the group's positions close to the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr. Another peacekeeper was critically injured at the time.
"At the conclusion of this investigation, we'll share the results with the parties, and any party who is found to be responsible, we will protest this to them formally", Ardiel said.
The death on Sunday was the first among the U.N.'s peacekeeping force in the new war between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah which erupted on March 2.
In response to the first death, Indonesia's foreign ministry said on Monday the deceased peacekeeper was one of its citizens and that three others were injured by "indirect artillery fire."
Indonesia condemned "in the strongest terms" the second attack, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
"This cannot be treated as an isolated occurrence, but reflects a rapidly deteriorating security environment in southern Lebanon, where ongoing Israeli military operations have placed United Nations peacekeepers at grave risk," it said.
In a post on X on Tuesday, the country's Foreign Minister Sugiono called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting and "for a swift, thorough, and transparent investigation" into the "heinous attack" after speaking with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Israel's military said early on Tuesday it is aware of the reports regarding the two incidents and they are being reviewed thoroughly to determine whether they resulted from Hezbollah or the military's activity.
Guterres said attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.
"We strongly condemn these unacceptable incidents - peacekeepers must never be a target," the U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told reporters in a briefing on Monday.
UNIFIL is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel - an area that is at the heart of clashes between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.
Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Tehran, two days after Iran was attacked by Israel and the United States. Hezbollah's attack prompted a new Israeli ground and air offensive.
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