Lebanon’s Hezbollah Says Not Linked to Accused in Peacekeeper Killing

An Irish UN peacekeeper stands next to the coffin of his comrade Pvt. Sean Rooney, who was killed during a confrontation with residents near the southern town of Al-Aqbiya on Wednesday night, during a memorial service, at Beirut airport, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP)
An Irish UN peacekeeper stands next to the coffin of his comrade Pvt. Sean Rooney, who was killed during a confrontation with residents near the southern town of Al-Aqbiya on Wednesday night, during a memorial service, at Beirut airport, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP)
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Lebanon’s Hezbollah Says Not Linked to Accused in Peacekeeper Killing

An Irish UN peacekeeper stands next to the coffin of his comrade Pvt. Sean Rooney, who was killed during a confrontation with residents near the southern town of Al-Aqbiya on Wednesday night, during a memorial service, at Beirut airport, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP)
An Irish UN peacekeeper stands next to the coffin of his comrade Pvt. Sean Rooney, who was killed during a confrontation with residents near the southern town of Al-Aqbiya on Wednesday night, during a memorial service, at Beirut airport, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP)

Lebanon's Hezbollah on Friday denied that five men accused by a military tribunal of killing an Irish UN peacekeeper in 2022 were linked to the armed party.

A court document filed on Thursday had identified some of the five as members of Hezbollah and allied movement Amal, according to a senior Lebanese judicial source.

Hezbollah media official Mohammad Afif said the five accused were not members of the group, which controls the part of southern Lebanon where last year's attack took place, and also denied that the indictment had described them as Hezbollah members.

Private Sean Rooney, 23, was killed on Dec. 15 in the first fatal attack on UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers in Lebanon since 2015.

Afif said Hezbollah had played a big role after the killing in reducing tensions and in local people's cooperation with the army and judicial investigation.

His comments are the first by a Hezbollah official since Thursday's reported indictment. The Amal Movement, which is headed by parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, has so far declined to comment.

The judicial source had said evidence was drawn from camera recordings in which the accused refer to themselves as members of Hezbollah. A second judicial source confirmed that camera evidence was mentioned in the 30-page court document.

Hezbollah has previously denied involvement in the killing, calling it an "unintentional incident" that took place solely between the town's residents and the peacekeepers.



Lebanon: Mikati Says Diplomatic Efforts 'Intensify' to Secure Ceasefire

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon: Mikati Says Diplomatic Efforts 'Intensify' to Secure Ceasefire

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday said that diplomatic efforts are ongoing to pressure Israel into halting its offensive on Lebanon.
He said that contacts have “intensified” in the past hours ahead of a session of the United Nations Security Council, aiming once again to achieve a ceasefire and increase pressure to stop the "Israeli aggression" on Lebanon.
He noted that “discussions are ongoing between the United States and France, which has requested the convening of the Security Council, with the goal of reviving a declaration for a temporary ceasefire to facilitate the resumption of talks on political solutions."
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both allied with Iran, and Hezbollah says its attacks are aimed at aiding the Palestinians. Israel has carried out airstrikes in response and the conflict steadily escalated, erupting into a full-fledged war last month.
Israel has inflicted a punishing wave of blows against Hezbollah in recent weeks and says it will keep fighting until tens of thousands of displaced Israeli citizens can return to their homes in the north.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon and over a million displaced since the fighting escalated in mid-September.