French paratrooper killed in suspected Hezbollah ambush on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon
A French paratrooper was killed and three of his fellow peacekeepers wounded in a suspected Hezbollah ambush in southern Lebanon Saturday — less than two days into a fragile 10-day cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon.A unit that included Staff Sgt.Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment was on a UN mission to clear explosives on a route toward an isolated UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) post in the village of Ghanduriyah when they were attacked at close range.Montorio was gunned down in a portion of the country that had been cut off due to ongoing skirmishes between Israeli military and Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorists.“He was caught in an ambush by an armed group at very close range,” French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said on X.
“Immediately hit by a direct shot from a light weapon, he was pulled back under fire by his comrades, who were unable to resuscitate him.”Three other French peacekeepers were injured, two of them seriously, according to the UNIFIL. All four soldiers ambushed wore blue helmets and were working under the banner of the United Nations.The attack — which Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also condemned — came after a temporary truce was reached Thursday between Israel and Lebanon to halt fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah terrorists that reignited following the start of the Iran war.French President Emmanuel Macron mourned the loss of Montorio and demanded retribution against the Iran-backed terror group.“The nation bows with respect and extends its support to the families of our soldiers and to all our military personnel engaged for peace in Lebanon,” Macron posted on X.“Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah.France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest the perpetrators and take their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL.”The UN group also suspects Hezbollah was responsible for the ambush, while announcing that it ha...