France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday he has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council following what he described as "the extremely serious incidents" which resulted in the death of a UNIFIL peacekeeper in Lebanon.
"Such attacks near UN peacekeeping positions are unacceptable and unjustifiable", Barrot said, adding France is calling "for a full investigation into the circumstances of these tragedies".
UNIFIL announced on Sunday that the peacekeeper from Indonesia was killed when a projectile exploded at one of UNIFIL’s positions near the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr. It said it did not know the origin of the projectile and whether the IDF or Hezbollah was responsible.
Despite this, Barrot blamed “violations of security" and “intimidations by soldiers of the Israeli army against UN personnel" in his statement.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement Monday night, “The IDF is aware of the reports regarding two incidents in which UNIFIL soldiers were harmed in Lebanon over the past two days."
“The incidents are being thoroughly reviewed in order to clarify the circumstances and determine whether they resulted from Hezbollah activity or from IDF activity," it added.
“It should be noted these incidents occurred in an active combat area. Therefore, it should not be assumed that incidents in which UNIFIL soldiers were harmed were caused by the IDF."
“The IDF is operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, and not against UNIFIL, LAF, or the people of Lebanon," concluded the statement.
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 the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
UNIFIL was established in 1978 to serve as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and continued operations after Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000.
The mission, which will be halted at the end of 2026, has been sporadically caught in the crosshairs of both Israel and Hezbollah over the last several years.
In October of 2024, the IDF revealed that approximately 25 rockets and missiles had been launched at Israeli communities and IDF troops from Hezbollah’s terrorist compounds embedded near UNIFIL posts in southern Lebanon, exploiting their proximity to UN forces. One of the attacks resulted in the deaths of two IDF soldiers.
As a result of these attacks, the IDF conducted strikes near UNIFIL posts, making sure to warn the peacekeepers beforehand and requesting that they vacate the posts. Nevertheless, UNIFIL accused Israel of deliberately targeting its peacekeepers.