Second French peacekeeper dies after ambush in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah

A second French soldier has died from wounds sustained in a weekend ambush against United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on 22 April 2026.

The attack, which occurred on Saturday, involved close-range gunfire and an improvised explosive device.

President Macron attributed the assault to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, although the group has denied responsibility.

The first soldier killed in the ambush was Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio.

The second casualty, Corporal Anicet Girardin, was part of a specialist dog-handling unit and was seriously wounded while attempting to aid his section leader during the attack.

Girardin was evacuated from Lebanon but succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday.

The ambush targeted members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a peacekeeping mission established in 1978.

UNIFIL comprises over 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries tasked with patrolling the Blue Line, the UN-drawn border between Lebanon and Israel, and working to de-escalate tensions in the region.

This incident is significant amid ongoing fighting in the Middle East involving Hezbollah and Israel.

It marks the third French military death linked to the recent regional conflict, following the deaths of Montorio and Arnaud Frion, who was killed last month by an Iranian drone in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin confirmed that Girardin was part of a mission to clear a route booby-trapped with an improvised explosive device when the attack occurred.

She described how Girardin came under sustained fire from concealed Hezbollah fighters at close range.

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