The story of the missile attack on Ghana’s peacekeepers in southern Lebanon has taken a deeply troubling turn, one that raises serious questions about what Israel knew before the strikes happened.
Less than 24 hours before two Ghanaian soldiers were critically injured in a missile strike, Israeli Ambassador to Ghana Roey Gilad had issued a direct caution to Ghanaian UNIFIL troops to remain inside their bases and stop patrolling due to escalating tensions along the Lebanon border.
Then the base was hit anyway.
The attack on the Ghanaian Battalion Headquarters occurred on Friday evening, with two missile strikes landing between 17:45 and 17:52 local time. Two soldiers were critically injured and a third suffered trauma. The Officers’ Mess facility was hit and completely destroyed by fire. The most severely injured peacekeeper has since been transferred to a hospital in Beirut for treatment.
Ambassador Gilad described the incident as catastrophic, expressing sympathy and wishing the injured soldiers a speedy recovery. He also pointed to an ongoing IDF investigation to “identify the source of the fire.”
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun directly accused Israel of targeting the UNIFIL position, while French President Emmanuel Macron condemned what he called an “unacceptable attack” and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the strike as “reckless.”
UNIFIL, which condemned the attack in strong terms, confirmed the three injured peacekeepers were inside their base in Al Qawzah in southwestern Lebanon when the incident occurred, and has since launched its own investigation.
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has formally protested to the United Nations, demanding a full and transparent investigation, accountability for those responsible, and strengthened protection for its approximately 900 soldiers currently serving in the volatile region.
