Indonesia demands UN investigation into peacekeeper deaths, official says

Says that ongoing Israeli military operations ​have placed UN peacekeepers in Lebanon at grave risk

Indonesia has called on the United Nations to investigate the deaths ​of three of its UNIFIL peacekeepers following Israeli ‌strikes in southern Lebanon, a foreign ministry official said in a statement published on Wednesday.

The ministry's UN representative, Umar Hadi, made ​the statement during an emergency meeting of the ​Security Council on Tuesday.

"We demand a direct investigation ⁠from the UN, not just Israel's excuses," he ​said.

Indonesia said earlier this week that ongoing Israeli military operations ​have placed UN peacekeepers in Lebanon at grave risk.

The Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon after a bloody ​weekend in which Lebanese journalists and medics were also ​killed in Israeli strikes.

Read: Four Israeli soldiers killed in southern Lebanon

A roadside explosion appeared to have struck the convoy ‌of ⁠two Indonesian peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon on Monday, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Tuesday, citing the initial findings of an investigation.

The Israeli military said on ​Tuesday that its ​review of ⁠an incident involving UNIFIL troops on Monday concluded that Israeli troops did not place ​an explosive device in the area and ​that ⁠no troops were present there.

Indonesia contributes over 2,700 uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping, among the largest contributors globally, the ⁠UN said ​in 2024.

Indonesia has pledged to ​contribute troops for potential deployment in Gaza as part of the UN-mandated multinational ​International Stabilisation Force.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on ​Sunday he had instructed ‌the military to further expand the existing security buffer zone ​in southern Lebanon, ​vowing to fundamentally change the ⁠security situation there.

"I have ​just instructed to further ​expand the existing security buffer zone. We are determined to fundamentally ​change the situation ​in the north," Netanyahu said in ‌a ⁠video statement from the Northern Command.

He said the decision aimed to strengthen Israel's ​security ​posture ⁠along the northern frontier, amid ongoing tensions ​along Israel's northern ​border, ⁠where cross-border hostilities have raised fears of a broader ⁠regional ​escalation.