A French soldier was killed and three others were injured on Saturday morning during an attack on U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon that appeared to have been carried out by Hezbollah, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
"Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah," Macron wrote on social media. "France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest those responsible and assume their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL," the U.N. mission in southern Lebanon.
Macron identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment from Montauban. He added that three of Montorio's "comrades in arms were injured and evacuated."
"The nation bows in respect and extends its support to the families of our soldiers and to all our military personnel engaged for peace in Lebanon," he said.
U.N. peacekeepers said that “non-state actors” were thought to have been behind the deadly attack on their personnel, saying it could have been linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah.
In a statement, the U.N. peacekeepers (UNIFIL) said that an "initial assessment indicates the fire came from non-state actors", adding that it was "allegedly" Hezbollah.
The force urged Lebanon to "swiftly initiate an investigation to identify and hold the perpetrators accountable" for what it called a "deliberate" attack.
The French soldier’s death came nearly a month after a drone attack on March 12 targeted a Kurdish military base in Iraq's Erbil region, killing French Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion and wounding six others.
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said Saturday that the soldier was killed during an ambush in the Deir Kifa region in Lebanon. She said he was on a mission to open a route toward a UNIFIL post that had been isolated for several days due to fighting in the area between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.
A 10-day ceasefire took effect in Lebanon on Friday, but it wasn't clear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a truce it did not play a role in negotiating.
"He was caught in an ambush by an armed group at very close range," she said on X. "Immediately hit by a direct shot from a light weapon, he was pulled back under fire by his comrades, who were unable to resuscitate him."
Macron spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam following the attack "in order to call on the Lebanese authorities to shed full light on this incident, to identify and prosecute those responsible without delay, and to do everything possible to ensure the safety of UNIFIL soldiers, who must under no circumstances be targeted," Macron's office said.
Macron also reiterated "the importance of full respect for the ceasefire by all parties and reaffirmed France's commitment to Lebanon's sovereignty, for the benefit of all Lebanese people and regional stability.
