JAKARTA, LITERASIHUKUM.COM — The United Nations has revealed initial findings regarding two incidents that resulted in the deaths of three TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces) peacekeepers of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon in late March 2026. Based on preliminary investigations, one Indonesian soldier died as a result of a projectile from an Israeli tank, while the other two soldiers died as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED) likely planted by Hezbollah. UN Secretary-General's spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric emphasized that these findings are still preliminary and a full investigation is still underway.

The UN stated that the initial results have been shared with Indonesia, Israel, and Lebanon. In the first incident on March 29, 2026, Indonesian soldier First Private Farizal Rhomadhon was killed when a projectile hit a UNIFIL position near Adchit Al Qusayr. The initial findings of the investigation indicate that the projectile was a 120 mm round fired from an Israeli Merkava tank.

The following day, on March 30, 2026, two other Indonesian soldiers, Major Inf (Posthumous) Zulmi Aditya Iskandar and Sergeant Major (Posthumous) Muhammad Nur Ichwan, were killed after an explosion destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan. For this second incident, UN investigators concluded that the explosion most likely came from an IED planted by Hezbollah. The findings also clarify that the cause of death of the three TNI personnel did not originate from the same incident, but rather from two separate events within two days.

Dujarric asserted that attacks against UN peacekeeping forces are unacceptable and can be categorized as war crimes. The UN also requested that this matter be further investigated by the relevant national authorities and that the perpetrators be brought to justice. Previously, Indonesia had already urged a thorough investigation by the UN and rejected unilateral explanations from Israel in the UN Security Council forum.

This development provides a clearer picture of the tragedy that befell the Garuda contingent in Lebanon, but it does not resolve all issues. As the UN investigation is still ongoing, these initial findings are not yet final conclusions. However, at least for now, the UN has identified strong indications of the involvement of Israeli tank fire in one incident and explosives allegedly planted by Hezbollah in another incident as the cause of death of the three TNI UNIFIL soldiers.