A French soldier died and three other members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were wounded while conducting a road-clearing operation in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL and French officials said on Saturday. UNIFIL described the incident as an apparent deliberate attack and said initial assessments indicated the fire came from non-state actors, allegedly Hezbollah.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in separate phone calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, condemned what his office called an "unacceptable attack." Presidential officials said Macron indicated the evidence gathered so far pointed to the Iran-backed armed group and urged Lebanese authorities to take action against those responsible.
UNIFIL reported that three other members of its peacekeeping mission were injured in the incident, two of them seriously. The organization said an investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the shooting, which it said occurred in the southern Lebanese village of Ghandouriyeh.
French armed forces minister Catherine Vautrin provided details on the mission itself, saying the patrol had been ambushed while on a task to open a route to a UNIFIL post that had become isolated amid fighting in the area. She said the soldier was killed by direct small-arms fire.
Hezbollah reacted to the accusations by denying any involvement, expressing its "surprise at positions that rushed to make baseless accusations" against the group. Lebanon's army also condemned the shooting and said it had opened an investigation. President Aoun offered condolences and ordered an immediate probe, and Prime Minister Salam issued a condemnation of the attack.
UNIFIL has a long-standing presence in Lebanon, having been first deployed in 1978 and remaining through successive periods of conflict. The peacekeeping force's positions were targeted repeatedly during a 2024 war, according to the information provided about its recent history.
In a separate development on Saturday, the Israeli military said it had killed members of a "terrorist cell" that it said violated a U.S.-brokered ceasefire by approaching Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. The military said it was authorised to take necessary self-defence measures against such threats and that those actions are not restricted by the terms of the ceasefire.
The ceasefire text released by the U.S. State Department states that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a "cessation of hostilities" on April 16 at 2100 GMT for an initial period of 10 days to enable peace negotiations between the two countries. The agreement does not require Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon. The region of southern Lebanon where Israeli troops have been operating accounts for about 8% of Lebanese territory, the account noted, and the statement said Israeli troops have been destroying villages and infrastructure after ordering residents south of the Litani River to flee.
Authorities on multiple sides have announced investigations into recent violence. UNIFIL has launched an inquiry into what it described as a deliberate attack. Lebanon's army said it opened a probe, and French officials have called for action by Lebanese authorities. The incident adds to an already tense security environment in southern Lebanon and has prompted condemnations and diplomatic engagement at senior levels.