One UN peacekeeper is dead after base is attacked – RECAP

Kandice Ardiel, the spokesperson for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), has confirmed that several peacekeepers were wounded after an explosion at a UN position in southern Lebanon.

‘A projectile exploded tonight at a UNIFIL site near Adshit al-Qusayr, resulting in injuries to a number of peacekeepers,’ Ardiel was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.

The spokesperson said she would provide more information as soon as it becomes available.

An Israeli artillery barrage has targeted the headquarters of the UN’s peacekeeping contingent in southern Lebanon.

Indonesian forces were hit on the base in Adshit al-Qusayr, in the Marjayoun district, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Broadcaster Al Jadeed News reported there were casualties, and helicopters are transporting the wounded.

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You can find the latest stories on the Middle East conflict on the Daily Mail homepage.

US President Donald Trump told the Financial Times that a ceasefire deal with Iran could be reached ‘fairly quickly.’

The newspaper also reported that Trump said he wants to “take the oil in Iran” and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island.

‘To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,’ the US president was quoted as saying by FT.

Such a move would involve seizing Kharg Island, through which most of Iran’s crude exports pass.

‘Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,’ he said, adding that any operation would likely require US forces to remain there for some time.

Kuwait’s Ministry of ⁠Electricity and Water has said an⁠ ⁠Indian worker was killed in ⁠an Iranian attack on ⁠a power and water desalination plant ‌in the country.

The attack also damaged a service building at the ⁠facility, it said in a social media post.

Iraqi armed group Saraya Awliya al-Dam has said on its Telegram channel that it carried out eight attacks targeting US bases in the region in the past 24 hours.

An 11-year-old Iranian boy killed in recent fighting has been identified as having been present at a Revolutionary Guard checkpoint in Tehran at the time of his death, according to Iranian media and rights groups.

The child, Alireza Jafari, a fifth-grade student, was killed in what officials described as a drone attack.

His name had earlier appeared on casualty lists, but the Basij Teachers Organisation later confirmed he died ‘while on duty’ at the site.

His mother told the newspaper Hamshahri that the boy had accompanied his father, who was serving at the checkpoint, because of a reported shortage of personnel.

Rights groups and Iranian outlets reporting the case say teenagers are also sometimes present at such checkpoints.

The report comes as outlets linked to Iran’s security establishment promote a volunteer campaign allowing participants as young as 12 to register for support roles tied to security efforts.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has said it will target the private residences of US and Israeli officials in the region, reported AP.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari said the move comes after what he described as attacks by the US and Israel on residential homes in multiple Iranian cities.

The warning is directed at US and Israeli military and political officials based in the Middle East, including Israel, as the war continues to widen.

Oil prices climbed Sunday after Tehran warned against a US ground invasion.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 1.7% to about $107 per barrel. US crude rose 2% to $101.

The UK’s Minister for the Middle East and North Africa said he was ‘deeply concerned’ by Israel’s plans to expand its ground operations in Lebanon

Hamish Falconer said: ‘Deeply concerned by Israel’s announcement stating intention to expand its ground operations in Lebanon, where over 1 million people have already been forcibly displaced.

‘Israel must avoid further exacerbation of the conflict, and refrain from any action to seize Lebanese territory.’

Earlier on Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to expand its so-called ‘existing security buffer zone’ as the IDF continues to target the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah.

On a visit to northern Israel, he said: ‘I have just instructed to further expand ​the existing security ⁠buffer zone. ⁠

‘We are determined to fundamentally ‌change the situation in the north.

‘We eliminated thousands of Hezbollah terrorists, and above all, we eliminated the immense threat of 150,000 missiles and rockets that were intended to destroy the cities of Israel.’

He added: ‘Hezbollah still has a residual capability to launch rockets at us.’

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it currently ‘does not know’ the origin of the projectile launched at its base.

UNIFIL said a peacekeeper was killed when a projectile exploded at one of its positions near the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr on Sunday.

Another peacekeeper was critically injured, it said in a statement early on Monday.

‘We do not know the origin of the projectile. We have launched an investigation to determine all of the circumstances,’ UNIFIL added.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday met King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman, during an official visit.

Following the meeting, he wrote on X: I met with @KingAbdullahII of Jordan.

‘We discussed potential partnership in the security sector, as well as the overall situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region.

‘Ukraine is open to joint work to defend against drone and missile attacks. From our own experience, we know that without a unified system, it is simply impossible to establish comprehensive protection of people and critical infrastructure.

‘We have such a system, because for the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale war, we have been forced to defend ourselves against constant Russian strikes, including those carried out using Iranian drones.

‘It is also very important that those to whom we offer our expertise can help strengthen us as well.

‘I thank His Majesty for the meeting and for his openness to dialogue.’