UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon comes under fire, peacekeepers unhurt

The shooting near Wadi Jilu

On the evening of Tuesday, 10 November, a UNIFIL patrol came under fire near Wadi Jilu in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon. UNIFIL said about a dozen rounds were fired at the patrol during a routine circuit and that no casualties were recorded. Adnkronos, citing qualified sources, reported that the patrol was Finnish and that it was travelling on a fairly deserted road in the predominantly Shiite eastern area of Tyre. The Italian agency added that no one was wounded and no vehicle was hit.

Response and inquiry

The patrol returned fire after spotting the flash of a shot, and the attacker stopped shooting. UNIFIL did not say where the shots came from or who was behind them. Adnkronos reported that UNIFIL has opened an inquiry, and the force has asked the Lebanese government to start a swift investigation to identify and prosecute the person responsible. In its statement, the force placed the incident within its mandate and said:

“Deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and international humanitarian law.”

Wider context

UNIFIL was set up by the UN Security Council in March 1978, days after Israel invaded Lebanon, and now has about 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries. Al Jazeera reports that Israel still occupies swaths of southern Lebanon despite a so-called ceasefire and a US-brokered framework agreement. Notícias ao Minuto reports that Hezbollah entered the regional war in March 2026, that the campaign of strikes against the group resulted in more than 4,300 dead, and that the UN counts seven UNIFIL peacekeepers killed and several more wounded since March.

The Security Council voted last year, under US pressure, to end UNIFIL's mandate on 31 December 2026. Lebanese officials have called for the mandate to be extended.

Diplomatic response

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday that G7 foreign ministers, meeting in Paris, agreed on "the need to avoid a security void" in Lebanon after the mandate expires. The ministers also backed "the need to move quickly toward a new security architecture", Barrot said. He acknowledged, however, that there had been no breakthrough on replacing UNIFIL.