Lebanese soldiers and U.N. peacekeepers in Kfar Shuba, South Lebanon on Aug. 26, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/OLJ)
BEIRUT — The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced on Monday the discovery of 225 weapons caches in southern Lebanon since the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024. According to the UNIFIL statement, the weapons have been handed over to the Lebanese Army.
The agreement stipulated complete Israeli withdrawal and the withdrawal of Hezbollah's military from the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line demarcating the Lebanon-Israel border — leaving the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL as the only armed forces. However, Israel continues to occupy five "strategic" sites on the Lebanese side of the border, and its attacks on the country have not ceased.
UNIFIL is part of a committee with France, the U.S. (whose representative is the chair), Lebanon, and Israel, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the cease-fire. The Lebanese Army has significantly expanded its deployment in the South, following in the track of Israel's withdrawal.
"With the support of UNIFIL, the Lebanese Army has been redeployed to more than 120 permanent positions south of the Litani," UNIFIL said, but "the full deployment of the army is hampered by the presence of Israeli forces on Lebanese territory."
Relations between UNIFIL and residents of some southern villages are fraught, especially in cases where UNIFIL operates without the Lebanese Army present. UNIFIL’s freedom of movement has been increasingly challenged in recent years, particularly under pressure from Hezbollah.
While the U.N. mission is authorized to move independently in areas where it is deployed — as outlined in Article 12 of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 — it operates under Chapter VI of the U.N. Charter, which limits its use of force to self-defense.
On Monday, residents of Shebaa (Hasbaya district) prevented U.N. peacekeepers' vehicles from entering certain areas of the village, forcing UNIFIL to turn back, according to a video of the scene obtained by our correspondent in the South, Muntasser Abdallah.
Similar scenes have occurred in recent weeks in Tayr Debba (Sour district), Jmaijmeh and Yater (Bint Jbeil district), and Abbassieh (Sour district), where residents have expressed growing hostility toward UNIFIL patrols operating without accompaniment from the Lebanese Army. "UNIFIL coordinates its activities closely with the Lebanese Armed Forces and conducts some operations jointly with them," UNIFIL reiterated in its Monday statement.
Israel has said it wants UNIFIL to be able to move within southern Lebanon without coordinating with the Lebanese Army, and has said it would also like to see UNIFIL use more force against any aggression its patrols may face. Israel's delegation at the U.N. is seeking U.S. support to adopt a new version of Resolution 1701, which mandates UNIFIL's deployment, during its renewal. However, Russia and China may oppose any changes.
Pressure on Lebanon
The Lebanese government is facing mounting pressure to accelerate its efforts toward disarming Hezbollah and establishing a monopoly on all arms in the country. Last week, Israel bombed the Nabatieh region, using "bunker-buster" bombs designed to penetrate the earth and destroy underground structures. The Israeli army claimed to be targeting underground tunnels belonging to Hezbollah. Its various attacks on the region, which have killed more than 155 people, are often carried out under the pretext that it has identified a threat in the form of Hezbollah military movements or infrastructure.
According to a security source, the cease-fire monitoring committee informed the Lebanese Army of the Israeli army's planned strikes on Nabatieh, requesting that the site be searched, but Hezbollah refused, arguing that because the site was located north of the Litani River, it did not fall under the cease-fire's jurisdiction.
Trump, followed by Ortagus, in the region
Lebanon is expecting a visit from U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus at the end of the month, as part of a regional tour. Her visit is reportedly intended as a follow-up on the measures taken by the Lebanese government to establish control over its entire territory and achieve a monopoly on arms.
Ortagus is expected to reaffirm the refusal of any distinction between how Hezbollah should act south of the Litani or north of it, and to push for the installation of both fixed and mobile Lebanese Army checkpoints to prevent any transfer of weapons or Hezbollah troops.
This visit by the U.S. envoy will be all the more significant as it comes on the tails of U.S. President Donald Trump's own visit to the region, which began Tuesday. His is a highly anticipated trip that is expected to lay out the framework for America's foreign policy in the region going forward.
Communication channels between the Lebanese presidency and Hezbollah remain open, particularly on the issue of the party's disarmament and the development of a national defense strategy. President Joseph Aoun has assured that the process is ongoing, that he is confident in his ability to resolve this issue calmly, without confrontation, and by relying on internal dialogue with Hezbollah.
A recent meeting also took place between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the political adviser to Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Hussein Khalil, at the latter’s initiative. According to information obtained by L'Orient Today, Khalil inquired about the reconstruction project and the government's intentions with it.
Salam told Khalil that $250 million has been allocated by the World Bank for infrastructure reconstruction and that the government is working to increase this envelope to $1 billion. Khalil then asked which regions would receive this aid and whether the World Bank requires the funds to be exclusively for villages where inhabitants have not been entirely forced out.
Hezbollah indeed fears that not allocating reconstruction funds to villages that Israel razed to the ground would formalize Israel's plans to create a "buffer zone" by preventing the return to life to these devastated border villages. Salam reportedly assured that diplomatic efforts are underway to pressure Israel to complete its agreed-upon withdrawal and allow the reconstruction of those villages which it destroyed.