ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced that a second French UN peacekeeper serving in Lebanon died after succumbing to wounds sustained in a skirmish allegedly with Hezbollah last week, with the militant group previously having denied responsibility for the killings.

On Saturday, a French patrol serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) came under small-arms fire while clearing unexploded ordnance in the country's south, resulting in one peacekeeper, Florian Montorio, being killed on the day while three more were wounded.

"Anicet Girardin ... who was repatriated yesterday from Lebanon where he had been seriously wounded by Hezbollah fighters, died this morning as a result of his injuries," Macron wrote on X.

The French president had previously pointed the finger at Hezbollah for the attack, with UNIFIL itself announcing that "non-state-actors" were responsible for the ambush.

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

“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.

"[France] pays homage to the exemplary commitment of our armed forces within UNIFIL, which work with courage and determination in the service of France and peace in Lebanon," Macron wrote in his tribute to Girardin.

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 almost 350 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.