PARIS — Israel’s military on Wednesday acknowledged that its tank fire hit a UN position in southern Lebanon on March 6, wounding Ghanaian peacekeepers, an incident that underscores the growing risks as Israeli operations expand.

Initial findings by an internal UN inquiry had suggested Israel was behind the attack, a Western military source had told Reuters on Tuesday.

The UN peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel – an area that is at the heart of clashes between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.

The mission, which will be halted at the end of 2026, has been sporadically caught in the crosshairs of both Israel and Hezbollah over the last couple of years, but with Israel considering a broader ground operation, the risks could be greater in the coming weeks.

In a statement to Reuters, Israel’s military acknowledged its troops were behind the incident, but said they had responded to anti-tank missile fire from Hezbollah, which had moderately wounded two of its soldiers.

“A comprehensive investigation concluded in recent days determined that the fire that hit the UNIFIL personnel was mistakenly carried out by the IDF troops that misidentified the UNIFIL troops as the source of the anti-tank fire moments earlier,” it said.

“The IDF regrets the incident and has conveyed its apologies through the appropriate channels to Ghana and the United Nations. The findings of the investigations have been disseminated within the IDF to prevent recurrence of similar incidents.”

Lebanon was pulled ⁠into the war in the Middle East when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel that ignited a new Israeli offensive against the group.

THREE SHELLS FIRED FROM ISRAELI TANK
According to the Western source, the preliminary conclusions led by UNIFIL’s Force Commander Reserve with support from explosive ordnance disposal specialists indicated that three strikes at the al-Qawzah base were direct hits from the main gun of an Israeli battle tank.

They were fired using 120-mm M339 HE-MP-T shells, the source said.

“Israeli involvement in the attack against UNIFIL is undeniable, given that these munitions are manufactured by Israel Military Industries (IMI),” the source said.

The findings of UNIFIL’s probe have not been previously reported. UNIFIL had said on March 6 that Ghanaian peacekeepers were wounded amid heavy firing and called the incident “unacceptable,” but did not say at the time who was responsible.

“That investigation is not yet complete. Once it is finalized, it will be shared with the parties, per usual practice,” said UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel.

“Nonetheless, we reiterate the obligation of all actors to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers and avoid harm to civilians. Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and a violation of resolution 1701.”

The Lebanese prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Highlighting the concerns surrounding UN peacekeepers, UNIFIL said on Sunday that another group of peacekeepers were likely fired upon earlier that day on three separate occasions in southern Lebanon, “likely by non-state armed groups.” It said no peacekeepers were injured.

UNIFIL ABILITY TO CARRY OUT MISSION TESTED
The M339 HE-MP-T round can be used in anti-personnel, anti-helicopter, anti-materiel, anti-armor, and anti-structure roles.

The shots were fired within a five-minute window, indicating repeated fire rather than a single stray round, the source said, adding that the base’s location and coordinates were well known to all parties operating in the area, raising serious concerns over the safety of UN personnel.

Three Ghanaian soldiers were wounded, according to the Ghanaian army.

“This escalation, far from being isolated, is part of a worrying dynamic, severely testing UNIFIL’s ability to carry out its peacekeeping mission,” the source said.

The Israeli military occupies five posts within Lebanon and despite a ceasefire last year had frequently carried out airstrikes in the country’s south that it says are targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, among other provisions, states that no armed forces should be operating in southern Lebanon except the UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese military.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of trying to rearm and the Lebanese armed forces of failing to disarm the group. — Reuters

SEOUL — South Korea has secured a pledge from the United Arab Emirates to supply 24 million barrels of crude oil, its presidential office said on Wednesday, as authorities roll out measures to cushion the economy from fallout from the Middle East conflict.

Kang Hoon-sik, President Lee Jae Myung’s chief of staff, told a briefing at the Blue House that the UAE had said it would give South Korea – the world’s fourth-biggest oil importer – top priority for crude supplies.

“They clearly promised that there would be no country that receives oil ahead of South Korea, and that Korea would be number one priority in crude oil supply,” Mr. Kang said, after returning from the UAE.

However, while he confirmed plans to urgently import 18 million barrels, Mr. Kang gave no time frame for their delivery and no details on potential shipping routes that would avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait has forced the UAE to shut in production, cutting its oil output by more than half, while loadings at its Fujairah terminal have been disrupted by drone attacks.

Two supertankers carrying a total of 4 million barrels of Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude that loaded at Fujairah are due to arrive in South Korea on March 29 and April 1, Kpler data shows.

The last cargo of naphtha loaded on February 20 and offloaded in South Korea on March 14, according to Kpler data.

Total emergency imports from the UAE would reach 24 million barrels, Mr. Kang said. Deliveries would be made on three UAE-flagged vessels and six South Korean-flagged ships.

South Korea imports almost all of its energy, with about 70% of its crude oil shipments and 20% of liquefied natural gas typically sourced from the Middle East, according to Korea International Trade Association data.

It is also a big importer of naphtha, which is broken down into petrochemicals used in plastics for automobiles, electronics, clothing, and construction.

PLAN TO RESTRICT VEHICLE USE
The emergency supply agreement comes as South Korea moves to shield companies and consumers from surging energy costs triggered by the Middle East crisis.

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said earlier on Wednesday the country will limit naphtha exports and temporarily designate the feedstock as a supply-chain economic security item.

The government will boost financial support for affected petrochemical companies by 1.5 trillion won ($1.01 billion), including for the cost of alternative imports and preferential interest rates for firms handling high-risk economic security items, Mr. Koo said.

President Lee said on Tuesday the government should draw up contingency plans to restrict vehicle use on designated days if the Middle East crisis drags on.

The government has also imposed the country’s first fuel price cap in nearly 30 years.

To ease reliance on oil and LNG, Asia’s fourth-largest economy on Monday lifted caps on coal-fired power generation and moved to raise nuclear reactor utilization to around 80%. ($1 = 1,485.9000 won) — Reuters

SINGAPORE — Cambodia is importing more fuel from suppliers in Singapore and Malaysia to make up for supply shortfalls from Vietnam and China, its energy minister told Reuters on Wednesday, as the US-Israeli war on Iran squeezes fuel availability globally.

About a third of the 6,300 gas stations in the country of nearly 18 million people have shut since last Wednesday, with authorities investigating whether businesses are hoarding stocks ahead of further price rises.

Vietnam and China have restricted fuel exports until at least end-March to arrest potential domestic shortages. Neighboring Thailand banned exports in July 2025 after the onset of armed conflict with Cambodia and has not resumed supplies since.

Thailand and Vietnam together accounted for over 60% of Cambodia’s annual petroleum product imports in 2024, while Singapore and Malaysia made up nearly a third and China accounted for around 7%, according to data from International Trade Centre, a Geneva-based UN-WTO trade agency.

Energy Minister Keo Rottanak said Cambodia was boosting imports from Singapore and Malaysia due to export restrictions elsewhere.

“We’re still able to import a little bit from China. But because we have strong partnerships with global suppliers Total and Chevron, they are able to mitigate some of the risk,” Mr. Rottanak said.

Mr. Rottanak did not provide specifics on when the supplies from Singapore and Malaysia would arrive, but said current fuel stockpiles were comparable to historical levels.

Gasoline and diesel exports from the two countries to Cambodia in the first 18 days of this month were 25% higher than the same period last year, but 40% lower than in the final 18 days of February, Kpler data showed.

Cambodia has no oil refinery, and has less than a month’s supply of diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and petrol under normal conditions, Mr. Rottanak said.

“We are not yet 100% insulated at this stage, but the inflow seems to be okay for the time being,” he said.

Cambodia has been partly shielded from the shock by a rapid buildout of renewable energy, Mr. Rottanak said, adding that fuel imports have largely remained stable from 2022 levels due to renewables-led electrification.

“Because of renewable energy, we are in a way less susceptible to 100% shock from the oil in the Middle East,” he said, adding that the conflict highlights the need to expedite interconnection grids of countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“Situations like this should remind all of us that an ASEAN power grid is the way to go. We would be much, much more resilient than we are today.” — Reuters

DUBAI/TEL AVIV — Iran targeted Tel Aviv with missiles carrying cluster warheads in what it said was retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday.

Israel has said that Iran has repeatedly used cluster warheads, which disperse into multiple smaller explosives mid-air and spread over a wide area, making them difficult to intercept. The attack on densely populated Tel Aviv overnight on Tuesday killed two people, bringing the death toll in Israel from the war to at least 14.

In Iran, a projectile hit an area near the Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, however it caused no damage or injuries, Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi reiterated his call for maximum restraint during the conflict to avoid the risk of a nuclear accident.

Israel and the US have said preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapons program was one of the goals of the attacks they launched more than two weeks ago, which killed the country’s supreme leader and many other top officials.

The Iranian government on Tuesday confirmed the killing of Mr. Larijani, the most senior figure targeted since the US-Israeli war’s first day, when an Israeli strike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which Mr. Larijani led as secretary, sai Mr. Larijani’s son and his deputy, Alireza Bayat, were also killed in an Israeli attack on Monday night.

The targeted killings took place as the US-Israeli war on Iran shows no signs of de-escalation.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has rejected proposals conveyed to Iran’s Foreign Ministry for “reducing tensions or ceasefire with the United States,” according to a senior Iranian official who asked not to be identified.

Mr. Khamenei, attending his first foreign-policy meeting since his appointment, said it was not “the right time for peace until the United States and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat, and pay compensation,” according to the official.

The official did not clarify whether the younger Khamenei, who has not yet appeared in photos or on TV since being named last week to replace his slain father, had attended the meeting in person or remotely.

TRUMP SAYS HELP FROM ALLIES TO SECURE STRAIT NOT NEEDED
US-based Iran human rights group HRANA said on Monday that an estimated 3,000-plus people have been killed in Iran since the US-Israeli attacks began at the end of February. Iranian attacks have killed people in Iraq and across the Gulf states, as well as Israel. More than 900 people have died since Israel began attacks on Lebanon on March 2, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for a fifth of the global oil trade, remains largely closed as Iran threatens to attack tankers linked to the US and Israel. Oil prices have soared.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly castigated allied countries in recent days for their cool response to his requests for military help to restore the passage of oil tankers through the strait.

Most US allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have told Mr. Trump they don’t want to get involved in the conflict, he said on Tuesday, describing their position as “a very foolish mistake.”

“Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID!” Mr. Trump wrote on social media, also singling out Japan, Australia and South Korea.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in an interview that nobody was ready to risk the lives of their people in protecting the strait.

“We have to find diplomatic ways to keep this open so that we don’t have a food crisis, fertilizers crisis, energy crisis as well,” Ms. Kallas said.

The US has given shifting rationales for joining Israel to attack Iran and struggled to explain the legal basis for starting a new war, underscored by the Tuesday resignation of the head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, Joseph Kent. Mr. Kent wrote in his resignation letter to Mr. Trump that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation.”

US TARGETS IRAN COASTLINE
Iran has responded to the Israeli-US attacks with wide-ranging strikes on its Gulf neighbors, some of which host US bases.

Gulf Arab states have faced more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks on US diplomatic missions and military bases as well as oil infrastructure, ports, airports, ships and residential and commercial buildings, and most of them aimed at the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia will host a consultative meeting of foreign ministers from a number of Arab and Islamic countries in Riyadh on Wednesday evening to discuss ways to support regional security and stability, the kingdom’s foreign ministry said.

The United States military said on Tuesday it had targeted sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz because Iranian anti-ship missiles posed a risk to international shipping there.

Oil prices rose about 3% on Tuesday as Iran renewed its strikes on oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates, and are up around 45% since the start of the war on February 28, raising concerns of a renewed spike in global inflation. The World Food Programme said tens of millions of people will face acute hunger if the war continues through June.

Global airlines sounded the alarm on Tuesday over soaring jet fuel prices, warning of hundreds of millions of extra costs, higher fares and cuts to some routes. Global aviation has been thrown into turmoil, with flights canceled, rescheduled or rerouted as most Middle East airspace remains closed amid fears of missile and drone attacks. — Reuters