The projectile hit the UNIFIL base near Adshit al Qusayr, killing one UN peacekeeper. Another soldier is in a serious condition in hospital.
One member of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was killed after a projectile hit their base on Sunday evening. “One member was tragically killed overnight after a projectile hit a UNIFIL position near Adshet al-Qusayr,” the UN Force said on Network X. “Another is seriously injured,” they added. TASR informs about it based on the AFP report.
UNIFIL said that they do not yet know where the projectile came from and launched an investigation. “No one should ever lose their life in the service of peace,” they added in the statement.
Incident v Adšit al-Kusajr
Lebanon’s NNA news agency said the base was in charge of an Indonesian battalion serving as part of the mission.
The city of Adshet al-Qusayr is located near the southern Lebanese border with Israel, where Israeli forces have been fighting the pro-Iranian militant movement Hezbollah for almost a month.
Intensification of the conflict
Al-Jazeera TV reminded that this is not the first time that a projectile has hit one of the UNIFIL bases. A few days ago, a missile by militants hit one of the UN forces’ complexes, and in recent weeks they have been the target of attacks by the Israeli army several times. In early March, three Ghanaian soldiers were also injured in a shooting in one of the border towns in southern Lebanon.
The Middle East conflict spread to Lebanon in early March after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel. Their attack followed the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the US-Israeli offensive.
Israeli response and plans
Tel Aviv responded with large-scale airstrikes and its troops are advancing on several cities in southern Lebanon. Israeli officials say they plan to create a security zone within 30 kilometers of the border to protect residents of northern Israel.
UNIFIL is an independent UN peacekeeping force that has been in southern Lebanon since the 1970s to monitor and enforce various ceasefires and agreements.
