BEIRUT — Lebanon's death toll among its armed forces climbed to 31 on Friday after a soldier succumbed to wounds sustained during an Israeli strike on Lebanese Army positions in the south of the country, military sources confirmed. The death prompted Beirut to escalate its diplomatic response, with the Lebanese foreign ministry formally requesting an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to address what officials called 'a systematic targeting of Lebanon's sovereign security forces.'

The Lebanese government, led by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the strikes and calling on international guarantors of the 2006 ceasefire resolution — specifically UN Security Council Resolution 1701 — to hold Israel accountable. Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti said Lebanon would present documentary evidence of the strikes to the UN's UNIFIL mission command and to member states on the Security Council.

Israel's military said its operations in southern Lebanon are targeted at Hezbollah infrastructure and weapons transfers, and that the Lebanese Army's positions were in proximity to militant activity. Israeli officials did not directly acknowledge striking Lebanese Armed Forces personnel but reiterated the right to self-defense. The statements deepened friction between Tel Aviv and Beirut at a moment when diplomatic efforts to extend a lasting ceasefire remain stalled.

UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force stationed in southern Lebanon, confirmed it had received formal notification from the Lebanese Army and was conducting its own assessment of the incidents. A UNIFIL spokesperson said the mission was 'deeply concerned' by the pattern of strikes affecting Lebanese military personnel and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and respect international law.

The accumulation of Lebanese Army casualties — now at 31 killed — marks a significant deterioration in the post-ceasefire environment and risks drawing in wider regional actors. Analysts in Beirut warned that continued strikes on uniformed Lebanese forces, distinct from Hezbollah, undermines the Lebanese state's authority and complicates any future political settlement in the south. Western diplomats in Beirut were said to be in urgent contact with both Israeli and Lebanese counterparts seeking de-escalation.