UNIFIL base in Lebanon attacked by Israel, three peacekeepers wounded

UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, said its base at Qawzah was attacked by Israel. Three Ghanaian peacekeepers were wounded. AFP reported on Saturday (7 March 2026) that the strike occurred as Israel and the Iran-backed Hizbullah in Lebanon exchanged fire after the Middle East conflict spilled into that country since Monday (2 March). ‘In the midst of heavy gunfire tonight, three peacekeepers were wounded inside their base at Qawzah,’ UNIFIL said in a statement. ‘The most seriously injured casualties have been evacuated to a hospital in Beirut for treatment,’ it added. The Ghanaian military said their battalion headquarters came under ‘two missile strikes’. They added that ‘two soldiers were seriously injured, while another suffered trauma’. ‘The officers’ mess facility was also hit and has burned down,’ it stated. Neither UNIFIL nor the Ghanaian army named the source of the attack, but international troops said they would investigate the incident. ‘It is unacceptable that peacekeeping troops carrying out a mandate from the United Nations Security Council should be targeted,’ it added. In a statement, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned ‘the Israeli attack on Lebanon’. He added that the strike had ‘even reached a direct attack on UNIFIL’. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the ‘unacceptable’ attack on UNIFIL after speaking with his counterparts in Lebanon and Syria. ‘France is working with partners to prevent the conflict from spreading further in the region,’ Macron said. He highlighted the ‘key stabilising role’ played by UN forces. UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon for decades and has helped the Lebanese army as they dismantle Hizbullah infrastructure near the border with Israel following the last confrontation between the Iran-backed group and Israel in 2024. They plan to withdraw all troops from Lebanon by mid-2027.