French President Emmanuel Macron accused Hezbollah of killing a French soldier and wounding three others in an attack targeting the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the south of the country on Saturday. Hezbollah denied the accusation in a statement, calling for the results of the Lebanese Army’s investigation to determine the full circumstances of the incident.
According to UNIFIL’s preliminary assessment, peacekeepers came under fire from “non-state actors (allegedly Hezbollah)” while investigating a site suspected of containing explosive ordnance planted on a road between two UNIFIL positions in its southern area of operations.
UNIFIL has opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the incident, according to the statement. It called on the Lebanese government to “swiftly initiate an investigation to identify and hold the perpetrators accountable for the crimes committed against UNIFIL peacekeepers.”
The mission stated that “deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law and Security Council Resolution 1701, and may amount to war crimes.” The mission further emphasized “the obligations of all actors under international law to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property at all times.”
This marks the third incident in recent weeks resulting in the death of UNIFIL peacekeepers, according to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the “attack,” calling on “all actors to uphold their obligations under international law and to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and the inviolability of UN property and assets at all times.”
Hezbollah denied “any connection to the incident that occurred with UNIFIL forces in the Ghanduriyeh-Bint Jbeil area,” urging “caution in passing judgments and assigning responsibility for the incident, pending the Lebanese Army’s investigations to fully understand the circumstances.”
In a post on X, Macron asserted that “France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest the perpetrators and fulfill their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL.” Macron held two telephone calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, asking them to “ensure the security” of UNIFIL soldiers, while Aoun pledged to pursue those involved.
UNIFIL, deployed in Lebanon since 1978, includes more than 7,000 soldiers, including over 600 French troops.
Replicating the Gaza model
On the military front, Israel has divided the territory it occupies in southern Lebanon into three zones: the “Red Line,” comprising the first row of villages located directly on the Israeli-Lebanese border; the “Yellow Line,” which extends between 6 and 10 kilometers from the border; and a third line extending to the Litani River, approximately 30 kilometers from the border.
The army seeks to impose control in these areas primarily through “firepower and observation points.” According to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the Israeli occupation army is working to divide areas in southern Lebanon during the ceasefire period, following a model similar to Gaza.
The newspaper noted that the occupation army continues its operations on the Yellow Line, and that 55 Lebanese villages have been evacuated from the area. It added that most buildings there have already been destroyed, and there are no longer any elements of the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah in this area; in some locations, Israeli ground forces have taken up fixed positions.
According to the independent Lebanese Central News Agency, drones flew over the main Burj Rahal bridge, which was opened yesterday to traffic and is witnessing normal vehicle movement to the south and north of the Litani. Israeli drones also flew at a medium altitude over the villages of the Bekaa and in the vicinity of the Eastern and Western mountain ranges and Baalbek.
After midnight last night, Israeli forces blew up houses in the towns of Al-Bayyadah and Naqoura, bulldozed secondary entrances, and closed roads leading to several towns in the Western Sector.
