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UN chief says Israel must halt operations in south Lebanon

17 January 2025 18:32 (UTC +04:00)

UN chief Antonio Guterres said on Friday that Israel’s military operations and “occupation” in south Lebanon must cease, nearly two months after the truce that ended the war with Hezbollah, APA reports citing Al Arabiya.

“The continued occupation by the Israel (military) inside the UNIFIL area operations and the conduct of military operations in Lebanese territory are violations of resolution 1701... They must stop,” Guterres said.

He was speaking on a visit to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in Naqura, and referring to the Security Council decision that ended a 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Under Resolution 1701, only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers can be deployed in southern Lebanon.

Guterres also revealed that since the November 27 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, UN peacekeepers had found more than 100 weapons caches that he said belonged “to Hezbollah or other armed groups” in south Lebanon.

He said the “presence of armed personnel, assets and weapons” other than those of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL violated Resolution 1701.

Guterres is visiting Lebanon as the January 26 deadline approaches for full implementation of the November 27 ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.

Under the November 27 ceasefire accord, the Lebanese army has 60 days to deploy alongside UNIFIL in south Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws.

At the same time, Hezbollah is required to pull its forces north of the Litani river, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure it has in the south.

A monitoring committee comprising representatives of Lebanon, Israel, France, the United States and UNIFIL is tasked with reporting any ceasefire violations.

Hezbollah is the only group in Lebanon that refused to surrender its weapons to the state following the 1975-1990 civil war.