Gerry retweetledi
"Three Indonesian soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon in less than 48 hours. They were not fighters. They were part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL). They were stationed in known positions. And still, they died.
This is not a tragic accident. It is a clear signal.
The sequence of events matters. On 29th March, a projectile struck a UN position near Adchit al-Qusayr, killing one Indonesian peacekeeper and critically injuring another. Hours later, a second incident—an explosion that destroyed a UN vehicle near Bani Hayyan—killed two more.
Three dead. In uniform. Under a UN flag.
The Israeli military says it is “reviewing” what happened and emphasises that these deaths occurred in an “active combat zone.” But that explanation is not convincing. UNIFIL positions are fixed, mapped, and communicated to all parties. Peacekeepers are not hidden actors. They are the most visible neutral presence in any conflict zone.
If they are being hit, it is not because they cannot be seen. It is because they are being disregarded.
That distinction matters. Because it speaks directly to intent.
Since early March, Israel has expanded its military campaign in Lebanon, pushing deeper into the south and openly pursuing a buffer zone up to the Litani River. This is not a limited operation. It is a widening one. It has already killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon and displaced many more.
Peacekeepers are now operating inside a battlefield that is expanding by design.
And this is the point: states that are preparing for peace do not expand war zones. They do not normalize strikes in areas populated by international forces. They do not repeatedly hit locations that are clearly marked as neutral.
Israel’s conduct in Lebanon is not consistent with a state seeking de-escalation. It is consistent with one prioritizing military objectives over diplomatic constraints."
#Opinion by Dr. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
middleeastmonitor.com/20260401-the-k…
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