Spanish UN peacekeeper killed in exchange of fire in north

A Spanish member of the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon was killed on Wednesday in the cross-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The incident happened in Ghajar, a village which straddles the Israel-Lebanon border, where Israel and Hezbollah traded fire on Wednesday in an incident sparked by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack against IDF troops.

"One peacekeeper was killed. We are looking into the circumstances of this tragic incident," said Andrea Tenenti, spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy confirmed the death of a Spanish soldier in Lebanon and said in a Twitter message that he sent his condolences to the soldier's family.

Tenenti said the head of UNIFIL was in close contact with all parties and had urged "maximum restraint" to prevent an escalation.

Spain's ambassador to the United Nations is blaming Israel for the death of the U.N. peacekeeper, though the incident is still under investigation.

"It was because of this escalation of violence, and it came from the Israeli side," Spanish Ambassador Roman Oyarzun Marchesi told reporters.

The U.N. peacekeeper has been identified as Cpl. Francisco Javier Soria Toledo, 36, and U.N. officials have said only that the cause of his death is under investigation.

The Security Council condemned the peacekeeper's death in the strongest terms and offered its deepest sympathies.

UNIFIL has more than 10,000 troops in Lebanon after its expansion under the U.N. Security Council resolution that halted the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

UNIFIL operates alongside Lebanese troops who are deployed in the south to keep peace near the border with Israel and prevent weapon transfers in an area that is a stronghold of the Hezbollah terrorist group.

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