ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Saturday denied “any involvement” in the attack on UNIFIL forces earlier in the day which killed a French soldier, after French President Emmanuel Macron said all signs point to Hezbollah’s involvement.

Sergeant Major Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment was killed by small-arms fire in southern Lebanon's Ghanduriyah on Saturday morning, with Macron saying that “everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah.”

Hezbollah denied the claim later in the day, calling for “caution in assigning blame” until the probe by the Lebanese Army is done.

“Hezbollah expresses its surprise at the hasty accusations leveled against it, especially given the silence of these same parties when the Israeli enemy attacks UNIFIL forces,” the group said in a statement.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam strongly condemned the attack and said he had ordered an immediate investigation to determine the circumstances and hold those responsible accountable.

Initially conceived in 1978, UNIFIL was redeployed to Lebanon following the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war and has suffered casualties at the hands of both sides, with the mission having endured 345 fatalities since its original inception.

In December 2022, Sean Rooney of the Irish Defence Forces was killed when a UNIFIL convoy en route to Beirut International Airport was attacked by Hezbollah militants.

UNIFIL said deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are “grave violations of international humanitarian law” and may amount to war crimes, urging the Lebanese government to swiftly identify and hold those responsible accountable.