Deadly blast in south Lebanon kills two UN peacekeepers

Two UN peacekeepers were killed in southern Lebanon on March 30, marking the latest casualties in a spike in violence that has led France to request an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, according to CNN.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported that two additional peacekeepers were wounded, one critically, after an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan. The mission noted that this was the second deadly incident involving its personnel since the weekend.

According to Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who oversees UNIFIL as the UN undersecretary-general for peace operations, the two peacekeepers killed were Indonesian nationals.

In a separate statement released on March 29, UNIFIL said another peacekeeper had died on Saturday night “when a projectile exploded in a UNIFIL position near Adchit Al Qusayr” in southern Lebanon. It added that a second peacekeeper was left critically injured.

“No one should ever have to die serving the cause of peace,” UNIFIL said.

The mission confirmed it has opened an investigation to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incidents, without assigning responsibility to any party.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, citing what he described as “extremely serious incidents suffered by the UNIFIL peacekeepers.”

“Such attacks … are unacceptable and unjustifiable,” Barrot wrote on X.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated it is reviewing the events to determine whether the casualties were caused by its own operations or by Hezbollah activity.

Since March 1, 2026, clashes between Israeli forces and Iranian-backed Hezbollah have intensified significantly in southern Lebanon, alongside an expanded Israeli ground campaign and a deteriorating humanitarian situation.

By Jeyhun Aghazada