UN peacekeepers stand guard, as displaced people make their way back to their homes after crossing the bridge linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, following the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel in Qasmiyeh, Lebanon, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / REUTERS
A French soldier was killed and three others wounded in an attack on Saturday, April 18, on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon that appeared to have been carried out by Hezbollah, French President Emmanuel Macron said. Macron identified the soldier as Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment from Montauban.
"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 UN mission in southern Lebanon. "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.
Macron added that three of Montorio's "comrades in arms were injured and evacuated."
The Lebanese army said the UN peacekeepers incident was an "exchange of fire with gunmen."
