Despite the ongoing ceasefire in Lebanon, clashes continue in southern Lebanon between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. A French soldier was killed and three other French soldiers were injured on Saturday in an ambush against UN peacekeepers attributed to the pro-Iranian Islamist group.
Published on: April 19, 2026 08:24 Reading time: 3min
From the Beirut waterfront, it may seem like the weapons have fallen silent for good. Children swim in the sea, families take strolls, but a hundred kilometers to the south, the ceasefire is crumbling by the hour. “The war in Lebanon will never end,” laments Razi, a butcher from areas regularly targeted by Israel. He never truly believed a ceasefire was possible.
On Saturday, April 18, a French soldier from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Sergeant-Chef Florian Montorio, was killed “by direct fire from a light weapon” in the Deir-Kifa region in Lebanon, in an ambush against peacekeepers. Three other soldiers were also injured in this attack, two of them seriously. In southern Lebanon, several clashes were also reported on Saturday between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. In the Lebanese capital, residents observe that the ceasefire is now hanging by a thread.
“We know that the war will return. In fact, our house is in the southern suburbs but despite the ceasefire, we have not returned home,” laments Razi. “Now, Israel has established a buffer zone in the south. They are colonizing Lebanon. And Hezbollah will never accept that,” he judges. “Even if Hezbollah accepts, we, the Lebanese people, will not accept it,” his friend Hassan adds. “These are our villages down there,” he reminds.
In Beirut, skepticism prevails. The scenes of jubilation that followed the announcement of the ceasefire on Thursday, April 16, seem to be a distant memory. “We had felt hope on Thursday, we reopened our shops, but now I think that the war will return and so will the destruction,” regrets Talal, a merchant.
Indeed, in the past few hours, clashes have increased in southern Lebanon with Israeli artillery fire and Hezbollah retaliation. And, as a symbol, the death of French Sergeant-Chef Florian Montorio from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the peacekeeping forces. “We are very sad for this French soldier,” Hussein mourns. “With UNIFIL, we have felt secure for years,” he continues. For him, like for other Lebanese people, the ceasefire is now over. Just like the hope for direct negotiations that were supposed to take place in the coming days between Lebanon and Israel.
