Spain is calling on the UN to carry out a full investigation into the death of a Spanish UN peacekeeper in south Lebanon after Spanish authorities said he was killed by Israeli fire.

Corporal Francisco Javier Soria Toledo, 36, from Málaga, died on Wednesday after being wounded during an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters.

Spanish authorities said the corporal, who was serving in the UN interim force Unifil, was killed by Israeli fire. “It is clear that this was because of the escalation of the violence and it came from the Israeli side,” Román Oyarzun Marchesi, Spain’s ambassador to the UN, told reporters.

Spain’s foreign affairs minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, called on the UN to carry out an “immediate, exhaustive and complete” investigation of what had happened. As soon as this was done, he said, “he would not hesitate to bring those responsible to justice.”

García-Margallo said he had received a phone call from his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, who offered his condolences. The Israeli ambassador to Madrid had also called to offer condolences and apologies, García-Margallo said.

The peacekeeper’s death comes amid escalating tension between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Wednesday’s clashes began when Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli military vehicle from inside Lebanon, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring seven others. Israel responded with air and ground strikes, prompting an exchange of fire during which the Spanish peacekeeper was killed.

Authorities have been calling for calm in the region, where violence has steadily risen after an Israeli air strike killed six Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general earlier this month.

In a statement, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, called for “maximum calm and restraint”, urging all sides to “act responsibly to prevent any escalation in an already tense regional environment”.

The military plane carrying the remains of Soria Toledo was due to arrive in Spain on Thursday afternoon.