[caption id="attachment_54052" align="alignright" width="108"] United Nations Security Council in session (file photo)[/caption]
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has condemned the killing of a Spanish UN peacekeeper who is widely believed to have died due to Israeli artillery fire late last month.
On Wednesday, the 15-member council said it condemned the killing of 36-year-old Lance Corporal Francisco Javier Soria Toledo in the strongest terms.
A senior UN official announced that a fact-finding report was being prepared by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFL), which would be presented to the UNSC within days.
The council added that it looked forward to the immediate completion of UNIFILs full and comprehensive investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the incident.
Immediately after the attack on January 28, Spains ambassador to the UN, Romįn Oyarzun, blamed Tel Aviv for the peacekeepers killing.
An unnamed UN diplomat said Tel Aviv had attempted to apologize to Madrid through a number of sources.
Initial reports suggested that the Spanish peacekeeper was accidentally killed by Israeli shelling. However, a video posted online showed Israeli army forces deliberately opening fire on UN peacekeepers.
Tensions have been on the rise in the area after an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian sector of the occupied Golan Heights killed six Hezbollah fighters and a top Iranian commander on January 18. The resistance movement later retaliated by killing two Israeli soldiers.