Attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon: French Foreign Minister strongly condemned Israel

Paris. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barro has strongly criticized Israel. He said there had been “serious incidents” with United Nations peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL) in the Nakoura region of Lebanon. Baro said that Israeli soldiers violating security rules with UN personnel and trying to intimidate them cannot be accepted at all. He said that France has lodged its strong protest on this issue with the Israeli Ambassador present in Paris.

Barrow also condemned “in the strongest terms” Sunday’s shooting that left one Indonesian peacekeeper dead and three others injured, Xinhua news agency reported. Apart from this, he also described the incident of death of two Indonesian peacekeepers and injury of two others in a blast on Monday as very serious. After these incidents, Baro has demanded to call an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. He appealed to all parties to respect UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and ensure the safety of UN personnel.

He also said that UNIFIL should be allowed to carry out its work fully and move without any restrictions. However UNIFIL has not yet directly named Israel as the source of the attack and an investigation has been launched. But according to Lebanon’s national news agency and local media, on Sunday shells fired by Israeli artillery hit the headquarters of the Indonesian contingent deployed at UNIFIL.

On Monday, Indonesia confirmed the casualties among its troops and reiterated its condemnation of Israel’s military action in southern Lebanon. At the same time, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres also strongly criticized these incidents, saying that these are serious violations of international humanitarian law and Security Council Resolution 1701. It is noteworthy that since March 2, tension has remained constant on the border of Lebanon and Israel. On this day, Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel for the first time since the ceasefire of 27 November 2024, in response to which Israel intensified air strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon.