The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is deployed in the south of the country to act as a buffer with Israel. It effectively calls for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. This resolution aims for the cessation of hostilities on both sides of the border and provides that only forces maintaining security UN peace and the Lebanese army be deployed in southern Lebanon.
This text allowed the deployment of the Lebanese army along the border previously held by Hezbollah. But the party has maintained a presence in the region, where it has, according to experts, dug a major network of tunnels.
In 2020, the UN demanded from Lebanon access to these tunnels – which constitute a violation of resolution 1701 – under the “blue line”, which marks the border between the two countries, in vain. After 2006, shooting and tensions between Israel and Hezbollah continued to occur, albeit sporadically, until further escalation in October 2023.
UNIFIL is primarily responsible for supporting humanitarian work, but it can also “decide on any necessary action regarding the deployment of its forces, in order to ensure that its area of operations is not used for hostile acts”.
She regularly calls on the belligerents, who entered into open war three weeks ago, to cease hostilities. With the start of the Israeli army’s ground incursions into southern Lebanon at the end of September, it was caught in a vice. She now accuses Israeli troops of shooting “repeated” et “deliberate” on its positions having injured four peacekeepers in two days.
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