United Nations, March 11 India joined nearly 30 troop-contributing countries to UNIFIL on Wednesday to express deep concern over the escalating hostilities in Lebanon and strongly condemn Hezbollah’s “reckless decision” to join the Iranian attacks against Israel this month.
India is among the 50 countries that contribute troops to the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL).
“Today, I joined our partners to showcase our support to the brave men and women deployed as peacekeepers in #UNIFIL as they face growing threats and challenges,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said in a post on X.
Indian peacekeepers, with a long-standing commitment to UNIFIL, continue to fulfill their mandate and provide assistance to locals, even during these challenging times, he said.
“We unequivocally oppose any attacks on @UN Peacekeepers, for which there can be no justification,” Harish said, adding that UN Security Council Resolution 2589 testifies to India’s commitment towards the safety and security of peacekeepers.
UNSC Resolution 2589, adopted in August 2021 under India’s Presidency of the 15-nation Council, called on Member States hosting or having hosted United Nations peacekeeping operations, to take all appropriate measures to bring to justice perpetrators of the killing of United Nations personnel and to promote accountability for violence against UN personnel serving in peacekeeping operations.
Harish joined the Permanent Representatives of nearly 30 UN Member States at the Security Council stakeout as they expressed deep concern over the escalating hostilities in Lebanon.
Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont, read a joint statement regarding the current escalation in Lebanon on behalf of countries including Armenia, Austria, Bahrain, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Nepal, Panama, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom and Uruguay.
“We, troop-contributing countries to the UN peacekeeping Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), joined by several other member states, express our deep concern over the escalating hostilities in Lebanon.”
“We call on the parties to urgently return to the cessation of hostilities arrangement,” the joint statement said.
It said that Lebanon must be supported, “Its sovereignty and territorial integrity must be preserved. We express our full solidarity with Lebanon and the Lebanese people.”
The joint statement strongly condemned Hezbollah’s “reckless decision” to join the Iranian attacks against Israel since March 2, 2026, dragging Lebanon into a war that neither its authorities nor its population wanted.
“We urge Hezbollah to immediately cease its fire towards Israel, and to give up its weapons. We support the efforts of the Government of Lebanon towards the swift implementation of Resolution 1701,” which calls for ending hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
The countries, through the joint statement, urged Israel to refrain from attacks against civilian infrastructure and heavily populated areas and to respect Lebanese sovereignty and its territorial integrity.
“All parties must respect international law, including international humanitarian law, and ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure,” it said.
The joint statement commended the Lebanese government’s recent decisions to dismantle Hezbollah’s security and military activities in Lebanon.
“We stand ready to increase our support to the Lebanese State’s sovereignty and its armed forces to ensure control of the territory and stabilise the country,” the joint statement said.
Nearly a million Lebanese civilians have fled their homes following Israeli evacuation orders to escape the hostilities. “We commit to support the Lebanese government’s response to the needs of the displaced population and their host communities, and with the support of humanitarian actors in Lebanon, including UN agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, international and local NGOs,” the statement said.
The joint statement also strongly condemned the attack that affected the Ghanaian contingent of UNIFIL in its base in southwestern Lebanon last week, saying those responsible for the attack must be held accountable.
“We urge all parties, under all circumstances, to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises, in accordance with international law. Peacekeepers must never be the target of attacks or intimidation of any kind,” it said.
As of February 2026, UNIFIL’s force consists of 7,538 peacekeepers from 48 troop-contributing countries, including 642 personnel from India, the fourth highest after Italy (784), Indonesia (756) and Spain (660).