Three UN peacekeepers killed in Lebanon as Israeli strikes pummel south

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BEIRUT – Three United Nations peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon after a bloody weekend in which Lebanese journalists and medics were killed in Israeli strikes.

Two peacekeepers were killed on March 30 after an explosion from an unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL said in a statement. Two other soldiers were wounded in the blast.

Earlier, another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight March 29 into March 30 when a projectile exploded by one of the group’s positions by the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr. Another peacekeeper was critically injured at the time.

The death on March 29 was the first among the UN’s peacekeeping force in the new war between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah which erupted on March 2.

“These are two separate incidents and we are investigating them as two separate incidents,” said UNIFIL’s spokesperson Kandice Ardiel. In response to the first death, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said on Monday the deceased peacekeeper was one of its citizens and that three others were injured by “indirect artillery fire”.

Indonesia condemned the incident and said any harm to peacekeepers is unacceptable, while reiterating its condemnation “of Israel’s attacks in southern Lebanon.” The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incidents.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.

“We strongly condemn these unacceptable incidents - peacekeepers must never be a target,” UNIFIL chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told reporters in a briefing on March 30.

Paramedics, journalists killed

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 Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.

Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Tehran, two days after Iran was attacked by Israel and the United States.

Hezbollah’s attack prompted a new Israeli ground and air offensive. More than 1,240 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities. They include more than 120 children, nearly 80 women and dozens of paramedics.

More than 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since March 2, according to two sources familiar with Hezbollah’s count. The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings to residents of six villages in Lebanon’s western Bekaa region on March 30, in the first such warning for those areas.

The military said the warning was prompted by what it described as militant activity in the area, without providing further details.

Fresh airstrikes hit several towns in southern Lebanon on March 30 and at least one strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The Israeli military said strikes in Beirut targeted commanders responsible for coordination between Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups. At least 10 paramedics were killed over the weekend in Israeli strikes, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Three journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on their car on March 28.

The Israeli military has accused Hezbollah operatives of posing as Lebanese paramedics, and has said that some journalists it killed were part of the group’s intelligence or military wing. It has not publicly provided evidence to support those claims.

Lebanon’s health ministry has denied that any ambulances or health facilities are used for military purposes. Lebanon’s presidency has said that targeted journalists are “civilians performing a professional duty.” Israel has said it intends to control a buffer zone up to the Litani river, which runs about 30km north of the Lebanese border with Israel.

Its ground troops have been pushing into Lebanese border towns and demolishing homes in the area.

Israel’s military said on March 30 that a sixth soldier had been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s armed forces said that a Lebanese soldier had been killed in an Israeli air strike. At least nine Lebanese soldiers have been killed by Israel. REUTERS