A United Nations peacekeeper was killed and three others wounded after a UNIFIL patrol came under small-arms fire while clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the southern Lebanese village of Ghandouriyeh, the peacekeeping mission said Saturday.
Two of the wounded peacekeepers were seriously injured, it said.
UNIFIL said initial assessments indicated the fire came from non-state actors, allegedly Hezbollah, and that an investigation had been launched into what it described as a deliberate attack.
Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack on UNIFIL soldiers in Lebanon, according to a statement.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron said earlier a French soldier serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had been killed in the attack and blamed Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, urging Lebanese authorities to act against those responsible.
Lebanon's army condemned the shooting and said it had opened an investigation, while President Joseph Aoun offered condolences over the killing and ordered an immediate probe. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also condemned the attack.