Dawn.com
YOGYAKARTA/BEIRUT: Indonesia has called on the United Nations to investigate the deaths of three of its peacekeepers following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, a foreign ministry official said on Wednesday as relatives at home mourned their deaths. The ministry’s UN representative, Umar Hadi, called for the inquiry in a 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. Israeli strikes on Beirut’s suburbs, other areas kill seven people 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. Peacekeepers’ relatives mourn One of the peacekeeping troops, Farizal Rhomadhon, 28, was killed in an attack on Sunday. He is survived by a wife and one child. In his village near Yogyakarta, his uncle Sumijan, 82, attended a family gathering to pay his respects, though he said his nephew’s body had not yet been returned to Indonesia. “The kid was obedient, hard-working,” he said. “Before he was a soldier, he was in the business of selling songbirds. He was very disciplined.” The Indonesian foreign ministry’s initial reaction to Farizal’s death drew criticism on social media, with many users complaining that it did not identify the cause of the attack, describing it as “indirect artillery fire”. UN blames roadside explosion A roadside explosion appeared to strike the convoy of the two Indonesian peacekeepers killed on Monday, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said, citing the initial findings of an investigation. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that its review of an incident involving UN troops concluded that Israeli troops had not placed any explosive device in the area and had deployed no troops there. Indonesia contributes over 2,700 uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping, among the largest contributors globally. Indonesia has pledged to contribute troops for potential deployment in Gaza as part of the UN-mandated multinational International Stabilisation Force. Israeli strikes kill seven Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and a nearby town killed seven people on Wednesday. Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air raid on south Beirut killed five people and wounded 21 others. Another strike that hit a vehicle in Khaldeh, just south of the capital, killed two people and wounded three. The health ministry said Israeli attacks have so far killed 1,318 people in the country since clashes erupted between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2, raising a previous toll of 1,268 a day earlier. The toll included 91 women, 125 children and 53 health workers, with 3,935 other people wounded. Hezbollah said its fighters were engaged in “fierce clashes” with Israeli troops near the border, claiming rocket fire targeting a group of soldiers in another area. Israel’s military has reported several casualties among its ranks in recent days in south Lebanon, including four soldiers who were killed. Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2026
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