U.N. peacekeeper injured in possible mine explosion in southern Lebanon

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper was injured on Wednesday during an "operational activity" in southern Lebanon, according to Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the U.N. force, speaking to L'Orient Today. Tenenti added that the peacekeeping force is currently investigating the incident.

Local sources had previously informed our correspondent in the South, that the explosion of a landmine in a valley between Yater (in the Bint Jbeil district) and Zebqine (Tyr) had seriously injured a Finnish peace soldier.

Since the cease-fire in southern Lebanon at the end of November 2024, and the subsequent withdrawal of the Israeli army from the area — except for at least five positions still occupied — mid-February 2025, Lebanese authorities have been regularly warning residents about the presence of mines and explosives left by the Israeli army.

Even before the war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, from October 2023 to November of the following year, the accidental explosion of anti-personnel mines, scattered across many regions during the civil war and successive conflicts in Lebanon, was already a plague causing casualties each year. About 40% of mines do not detonate at the initial impact but remain beneath the soil and explode when civilians walk on them, sometimes decades later.