JAKARTA, April 1 (Reuters): Indonesia has called on the United Nations to conduct an investigation into the deaths ​of three of its UNIFIL peacekeepers following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, a foreign ministry official said in a statement published on Wednesday.

The ministry's U.N. representative, Umar Hadi, made ​the statement during an emergency meeting of the ​Security Council on Tuesday.

"We demand a direct investigation ⁠from the U.N., not just Israel's excuses," he ​said.

Indonesia said earlier this week that ongoing Israeli military operations ​have placed U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon at grave risk.

The Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon after a bloody ​weekend in which Lebanese journalists and medics were also ​killed in Israeli strikes.

A roadside explosion appeared to have struck the convoy ⁠two Indonesian peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon on Monday, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Tuesday, citing the initial findings of an investigation.

The Israeli military said on ​Tuesday that its ​review of ⁠an incident involving UNIFIL troops on Monday concluded that Israeli troops did not place ​an explosive device in the area and ​that ⁠no troops were present there.

Indonesia contributes over 2,700 uniformed personnel to U.N. peacekeeping, among the largest contributors globally, the ⁠U.N. said ​in 2024.

Indonesia has pledged to ​contribute troops for potential deployment in Gaza as part of the U.N.-mandated multinational ​International Stabilization Force.

Photo from Reuters