Preliminary UN Probe Says Israel and Likely Hezbollah Responsible for Peacekeeper Deaths

 A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
TT

Preliminary UN Probe Says Israel and Likely Hezbollah Responsible for Peacekeeper Deaths

 A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)

The UN said that preliminary findings from its probe into the deaths of three Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon last month show one was killed by an Israeli tank projectile and two by an improvised explosive device most likely placed by Hezbollah.

"These are preliminary findings, based on initial physical evidence," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing on Tuesday, adding that ‌a full investigation ‌was continuing which included engagement with the ‌parties ⁠concerned.

Dujarric called the ⁠incidents "unacceptable" and said they could amount to war crimes under international law.

He added that the United Nations had requested that the cases be investigated and prosecuted by national authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon on ⁠March 29 and 30 after a ‌bloody weekend in which Lebanese ‌journalists and medics were also killed in Israeli strikes.

Indonesia has urged ‌the UN to thoroughly investigate in light of the ‌preliminary findings, Veronica Rompis, a senior foreign ministry official told reporters on Wednesday, adding that all perpetrators should be brought to justice.

Bombardment in southern Lebanon on Tuesday forced a ‌convoy of humanitarian aid organized by the Vatican's embassy for a besieged Christian town to ⁠turn back, ⁠a priest in the town told Reuters.

Also on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the peacekeeping force, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, said the Israeli military had blocked a UNIFIL logistics convoy and briefly detained one of its peacekeepers.

The spokesperson, Kandice Ardiel, said that any detention of a United Nations peacekeeper was a blatant violation of international law and that the Israeli military had informed UNIFIL it had launched an investigation into the issue.



Lebanon PM Calls on Country's Friends to Help End Israeli Attacks

Smoke rises from the site of Israeli airstrikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, hitting several parts of the capital as well as its southern suburbs, Lebanese state media reported. (Photo by anwar amro / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of Israeli airstrikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, hitting several parts of the capital as well as its southern suburbs, Lebanese state media reported. (Photo by anwar amro / AFP)
TT

Lebanon PM Calls on Country's Friends to Help End Israeli Attacks

Smoke rises from the site of Israeli airstrikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, hitting several parts of the capital as well as its southern suburbs, Lebanese state media reported. (Photo by anwar amro / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of Israeli airstrikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, hitting several parts of the capital as well as its southern suburbs, Lebanese state media reported. (Photo by anwar amro / AFP)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Wednesday called on his country's friends to help put an end to Israeli attacks following a series of deadly strikes across the country.

In a statement, Salam said that while Beirut "welcomed the agreement between Iran and the United States and intensified our efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, Israel continues to escalate its attacks".

"All of Lebanon's friends are called upon to help us stop these attacks by all available means," he added, after Israeli strikes that Lebanon's health ministry said killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds more.


Spain Summons Israel Envoy after Spanish UN Soldier briefly Held in Lebanon

A soldier of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
A soldier of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
TT

Spain Summons Israel Envoy after Spanish UN Soldier briefly Held in Lebanon

A soldier of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
A soldier of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)

Spain summoned Israel's top representative to Madrid on Wednesday after the Israeli military briefly arrested a Spanish soldier from the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, foreign ministry sources said.

Israel's charge d'affaires was summoned "to protest the unjustifiable detention of a Spanish UNIFIL soldier by the Israeli army", the sources said, AFP reported.

UNIFIL on Tuesday said Israeli forces had held one of its peacekeepers "after blocking a logistics convoy", without revealing the nationality. The soldier "was released in less than an hour".


Multiple Israeli Airstrikes Hit Central Beirut Hours after US and Iran Announce Ceasefire

Smoke rises from an explosion in the Abbasiyeh neighbourhood following an Israeli strike, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke rises from an explosion in the Abbasiyeh neighbourhood following an Israeli strike, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
TT

Multiple Israeli Airstrikes Hit Central Beirut Hours after US and Iran Announce Ceasefire

Smoke rises from an explosion in the Abbasiyeh neighbourhood following an Israeli strike, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke rises from an explosion in the Abbasiyeh neighbourhood following an Israeli strike, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Multiple Israeli airstrikes hit central Beirut hours after US and Iran announce ceasefire.

The Israeli military said it struck around 100 Hezbollah sites across Lebanon on Wednesday, describing the operation as the "largest coordinated strike" since the war with Iran began.

"The -army- completed the largest coordinated strike targeting approximately 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites" in Beirut, Bekaa, and southern Lebanon, the military said.

"This is the largest strike carried out against Hezbollah infrastructure since the start of Operation Roaring Lion," it said, referring to its military campaign against Iran, which began on February 28. Hezbollah, however, entered the conflict on March 2.