Initial investigative findings released by U.N. peacekeeping officials indicate that a roadside blast likely struck the convoy of two Indonesian peacekeepers killed on Monday in southern Lebanon, the head of U.N. peacekeeping said on Tuesday.
The two soldiers, serving with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), died near Bani Hayyan and two additional soldiers were reported wounded. Separately, another Indonesian peacekeeper was killed overnight Sunday into Monday after a projectile exploded near one of the group’s positions.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who heads U.N. peacekeeping operations, told a Security Council meeting on Lebanon that "UNIFIL is conducting investigations to determine the circumstances of these reprehensible developments." The meeting occurred as the wider conflict between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah continues after the outbreak of hostilities on March 2.
Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, attributed the three deaths to Hezbollah and accused the group of firing rockets from villages adjacent to U.N. positions, "putting peacekeepers directly in the line of fire." UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel responded to that assertion by saying: "We invite them to share their evidence with our investigative team."
At a separate briefing, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described the Bani Hayyan incident as caused by a "roadside bomb, most likely an IED," or improvised explosive device.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the killings and characterized such attacks as "grave violations of international humanitarian law... and may amount to war crimes." He added in a statement: "There will need to be accountability."
Indonesia’s foreign ministry condemned the attacks "in the strongest terms," saying they reflected a deteriorating security environment in the region and that ongoing Israeli military operations have placed U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon at grave risk.
Speaking at the Security Council meeting, U.S. envoy to the U.N. Mike Waltz recalled that since 1978 more than 300 UNIFIL peacekeepers had been killed, arguing that this record underscores the need for the council to "think very carefully about the effectiveness of this effort." He said the council could help by refocusing international efforts on supporting Lebanese state institutions, reducing risk to peacekeepers, and pressing Hezbollah and Iran to cease destabilizing activities.
Under a Security Council decision, UNIFIL is slated to end operations at the end of 2026 with a withdrawal in 2027. As of March, the mission comprised 7,505 peacekeepers from 47 nations.
The U.N. investigation into the convoy blast remains ongoing. Officials have described the initial evidence as pointing to an IED and have called for relevant actors to provide any material that would assist the inquiry. National and international responses reflect both condemnation of the killings and differing attributions of responsibility, while the mission’s scheduled drawdown and historical casualty record were highlighted by delegates as factors shaping policy deliberations.