UNIFIL vehicles drive on a main road in Qlayaa, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran continues, in Qlayaa, southern Lebanon, March 27, 2026. (Credit: Karamallah Daher/Reuters)
The father of an Indonesian soldier killed amid fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in Lebanon said Wednesday he was shocked that peacekeepers were losing their lives.
Zulmi Aditya Iskandar was one of the two Indonesian peacekeepers killed Monday in "an explosion" that blew up their vehicle, the Southeast Asian country's defence ministry said.
"We were really sad and regretful, because this is a U.N. troop, a peacekeeping troop, not deployed for war," 60-year-old Iskandarudin told reporters at his house in West Java province, with photos of his deceased 33-year-old son on the wall.
Iskandarudin, who like many Indonesians has one name, said he was not worried when he learned his son was being sent to Lebanon.
His oldest son had also been deployed to the country as a peacekeeper in 2012.
The 60-year-old said he would have been more concerned had Zulmi been sent to Papua where Indonesian security forces battle a low-key separatist insurgency in the country’s easternmost region.
"His mission was a peace mission, not [to fight the] enemy," said Iskandarudin, himself a retired soldier.
He said the family was hoping to receive the fallen soldier's remains soon to perform the necessary rites before he is laid to rest.
The U.N. Security Council convened Tuesday following the deaths in recent days of three Indonesian peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in two incidents in the country's south.
A U.N. security source told AFP on Tuesday that Israeli fire had killed an Indonesian peacekeeper — not Zulmi — at the weekend. The U.N. force said it was investigating the incident.
The source told AFP on condition of anonymity that investigations had shown the fire came from an Israeli tank, adding "debris from a tank round has been recovered" at the site.
Israel's military said it was investigating the incidents to "determine whether they resulted from Hezbollah activity or from IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) activity."
In a joint statement, 10 European countries including France and Britain urged all sides to ensure UNIFIL members' safety.
