BEIRUT — Major General Diodato Abagnara, commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), honored Sergeant-Chef Florian Montorio, a French peacekeeper killed in a shooting incident in south Lebanon, during a ceremony at Beirut airport on Monday before his body was repatriated to France.
“We are here to honor you,” Abagnara said in remarks addressed to the fallen peacekeeper, adding that his service “lives on” through fellow soldiers and peacekeepers.
Montorio, 39, was killed on Sunday when a UNIFIL patrol clearing explosive ordnance came under small-arms fire near Ghanduriyah in south Lebanon. Three other peacekeepers were wounded, two of them seriously.
The ceremony in Beirut was attended by senior UN and French officials, including French ambassador Hervé Magro and UNIFIL Chief of Staff Major General Paul Sanzey, who praised the soldier as embodying France’s longstanding commitment to the mission.
Montorio was posthumously awarded UN and Lebanese Army medals in recognition of his service. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
UNIFIL said the patrol had been working to re-establish access to isolated positions when it was targeted by what it described as non-state actors. The mission has launched an internal investigation and called on Lebanese authorities to swiftly identify and prosecute those responsible.
The attack follows an agreement between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday for a 10-day ceasefire to negotiate an end to six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
“Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on X, urging Lebanese authorities to arrest the perpetrators.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack in a statement and said an initial assessment by UNIFIL found it was carried out by the Iranian-backed group.
But Hezbollah denied involvement in the attack that killed the French peacekeeper.
“Hezbollah denies any connection to the incident that occurred with UNIFIL forces in the Ghandouriyeh-Bint Jbeil area,” it said in a statement.
The group urged “caution in making judgements and assigning responsibilities” pending the results of the Lebanese army’s investigation into the incident. — Agencies
Source: Saudi Gazette