Two seriously injured in explosion at UN facility near El Adeisse; incident follows three Indonesian deaths in separate attacks just days earlier.
JAKARTA / BEIRUT – Three Indonesian United Nations peacekeepers were wounded in an explosion inside a UN facility in southern Lebanon on Friday, UN officials confirmed, marking the latest toll on international forces as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said the blast occurred near El Adeisse on Friday afternoon, injuring three peacekeepers who were rushed to hospital. Two of them sustained serious wounds.
The UN Information Center (UNIC) in Jakarta stated that the “origin of the explosion” remains unknown, but identified the wounded peacekeepers as Indonesian.
A deadly week for Indonesia
Friday’s incident comes just days after three fellow Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in two separate explosions.
On March 29, an Indonesian peacekeeper died when a projectile exploded in southern Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East war on March 2. A UN security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that fire from an Israeli tank was responsible for that death.
A day later, two more Indonesian peacekeepers lost their lives after an explosion struck a UNIFIL logistics convoy, also in southern Lebanon.
The bodies of the three fallen peacekeepers are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on Saturday evening, according to Indonesian military officials.
UNIFIL calls for restraint
The peacekeeping mission reminded Israel, Hezbollah, and all other actors of their obligation to ensure the safety of peacekeepers, including by avoiding combat near UN facilities and positions.
“This has been a difficult week for peacekeepers working near the central part of UNIFIL’s area of operations,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
The repeated attacks on UN personnel underscore the growing dangers faced by international forces deployed along the volatile Israel-Lebanon border, as the regional conflict continues to escalate with no clear end in sight.
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