Lebanon Detains Six After Gunmen Fire On UN Peacekeepers During UN Security Council Visit

Six Detained After Attack On UN Patrol In Southern Lebanon

The Lebanese army said on Saturday that its intelligence directorate had detained six Lebanese suspects after gunmen opened fire on a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol in the country’s south. The incident occurred on Thursday as a UN Security Council delegation prepared to visit the area. No peacekeepers were injured.

Army officials said the assailants — six men riding three mopeds — fired on a UN patrol vehicle but caused no casualties. In a statement the army warned it would not tolerate attacks on UNIFIL, which has for decades acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and monitored ceasefire arrangements.

The arrests followed a meeting between President Michel Aoun and visiting UN Security Council members on Friday. Council delegates said they intended to tour southern Lebanon to assess "the situation on the ground." Aoun told the delegation the visit would allow them to "see the real picture of what is happening there," after talks about rising tensions with Israel and the army’s stated efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

"We have adopted the option of negotiations with Israel — there is no going back," Aoun told the UN delegates.

Last year’s truce envisaged Israel withdrawing forces from Lebanese territory as Hezbollah disarmed. Yet Israeli forces still occupy at least five positions inside Lebanon and, according to the UN, near-daily attacks have killed more than 300 people. Israel says its operations target Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure to prevent the group from reconstituting military capabilities, but many strikes have also killed civilians and damaged homes and essential infrastructure.

UNIFIL has reported incidents in which Israeli forces fired at or near its peacekeepers. The UN Security Council’s visit comes amid tentative diplomacy: Lebanon and Israel recently held direct talks under a ceasefire monitoring mechanism. Hezbollah criticized Lebanon’s engagement with Israel, calling any concessions unacceptable and saying such moves would not halt attacks.

This developing situation — combining on-the-ground security incidents, high-level diplomacy, and regional tensions — underscores the fragility of the ceasefire and the continued risks faced by civilians and peacekeepers in the area.