ISTANBUL

Several European leaders condemned the killing of an Indonesian peacekeeper with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in an explosion late Sunday.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the incident as “a new red line” crossed in Lebanon.

“Spain strongly condemns these events. It demands that the origin of the projectile be clarified. And it calls on the Israeli government to halt the hostilities,” Sanchez wrote on the US social media platform X.

He said attacks on UN peacekeeping missions are “an unjustifiable aggression against the entire international community.”

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin also said he strongly condemns the killing and the "shocking escalation of violence that has injured a number of peacekeepers in recent days."

The role of the peacekeeper "must be respected and honored at all times,” he added, urging Israel and Hezbollah to “do everything in their power” to keep peacekeepers safe.

Commenting on the attack, Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said: “I utterly condemn the attack. Too many people have lost their lives serving the cause of peace. The escalation of violence must end."

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot also expressed his country’s “strongest condemnation and its full solidarity with Indonesia.”

“Attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international law and may constitute war crimes. There must be accountability. Lebanon needs de-escalation,” Prevot said on X.

Earlier, UNIFIL said a peacekeeper was “tragically” killed Sunday when a projectile exploded at a UNIFIL position near the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr. Another peacekeeper was critically injured.

Israel has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in the south since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.

The region has been on alert since the US and Israel launched an air offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people so far, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and infrastructure damage while disrupting global markets and aviation.