Two Indonesian peacekeepers serving with the United Nations died Monday when an explosive device detonated along their convoy route in southern Lebanon, according to preliminary investigation results released by UN officials on Tuesday.
The fatal incident occurred near the village of Bani Hayyan, where the roadside explosion also left two additional soldiers injured. This tragedy followed another deadly attack just hours earlier, when a third Indonesian peacekeeper lost his life Sunday night after a projectile struck close to a UN position.
Speaking at a UN Security Council session focused on Lebanon, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who oversees UN peacekeeping operations, announced that investigators are working to understand the full details of these attacks. “UNIFIL is conducting investigations to determine the circumstances of these reprehensible developments,” Lacroix stated.
The violence comes as fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah intensified following the outbreak of renewed conflict on March 2nd.
Israel’s UN representative Danny Danon pointed fingers at Hezbollah for the peacekeepers’ deaths, claiming the organization fires rockets from civilian areas adjacent to UN facilities. This practice, he argued, “putting peacekeepers directly in the line of fire.”
When asked to respond to Danon’s accusations, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel replied: “We invite them to share their evidence with our investigative team.”
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed during a press briefing that the Bani Hayyan attack involved a “roadside bomb, most likely an IED,” referring to an improvised explosive device.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a strong condemnation of the attacks, describing them as “grave violations of international humanitarian law… and may amount to war crimes.” He emphasized that “There will need to be accountability” for these incidents.
Indonesia’s foreign ministry responded Tuesday with its own harsh criticism, condemning the attacks “in the strongest terms” while noting the worsening security situation across the region. The ministry specifically cited ongoing Israeli military actions as creating serious dangers for UN peacekeeping personnel stationed in Lebanon.
During the Security Council meeting, U.S. representative Mike Waltz highlighted the long history of peacekeeper casualties, noting that since 1978, more than 300 UNIFIL personnel have died. This record, he argued, means the council “must think very carefully about the effectiveness of this effort.”
“We can help refocus international efforts on supporting Lebanese state institutions, reducing risk to peacekeepers, and pressing Hezbollah and Iran to cease their destabilizing activities,” Waltz added.
The peacekeeping mission faces a scheduled conclusion, with the Security Council having decided that UNIFIL operations will end in late 2026, followed by complete withdrawal in 2027. Current deployment numbers show 7,505 peacekeepers from 47 different countries serving in the mission as of March.
