UN force says 3 peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon

BEIRUT: The United Nations force in Lebanon said a blast at one of its positions wounded three peacekeepers on Friday (Apr 3), the third such incident in a week, as more Israeli strikes hit south Beirut.

"This afternoon, an explosion inside a UN position ... injured three peacekeepers, two seriously. They are all currently being evacuated to hospital. We do not yet know the origin of the explosion," UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon is deployed in the country's south near the border, where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war for a month and where Israeli troops are carrying out a ground invasion.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on Mar 2 when the Tehran-backed group Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has responded with massive strikes across Lebanon as well as the ground invasion.

Lebanese authorities have reported 1,368 dead in a month of hostilities.

Israel's military carried out fresh strikes on south Beirut after issuing an evacuation order for the area, a Hezbollah stronghold that has largely emptied of residents amid repeated raids and evacuation warnings.

An AFP correspondent heard explosions as the state-run National News Agency reported raids on the area and Israel's military said it "has begun striking terror infrastructure in Beirut".

Also Friday, the Israeli military said it planned to strike two bridges in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa region, warning residents in the area to evacuate.

"In order to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment ... the IDF (army) intends to target the Sohmor and Mashghara bridges," it said.

Israel has already struck several bridges over the Litani River, which runs around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border.

Israel has said it wants to maintain "security control" up to the river, which bisects south Lebanon.

The NNA also reported strikes in various areas, including Srifa in the Tyre district, where it said a wave of strikes targeting residential neighbourhoods caused "extensive destruction of homes and shops".

The agency also said Israeli forces had "destroyed what remained of houses" in towns near the border including Aita al-Shaab, Qawzah, Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun, which were largely destroyed during the previous Israel-Hezbollah war that ended in 2024.

Israel's army said it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon since the latest war began, while Hezbollah said it had carried out 1,309 operations against Israeli targets during the same period, around half inside Lebanon and half across the border.

On Sunday, an Indonesian peacekeeper was killed when a projectile of unknown origin exploded in a UNIFIL position, according to the force, while another blast the following day killed two more Indonesian troops.

A UN security source had told AFP that Israeli fire was behind Sunday's attack, while a mine may have caused the following day's deadly blast.

Israel's military denied responsibility for Monday's incident.

According to the UN, 97 force members have been killed in violence since UNIFIL was first established to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in 1978.

The mandate of the force, which for decades has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon, finishes at the end of this year.