Security Council urges Israel, Lebanon to respect ceasefire, gives backing to UNIFIL and Lebanese army

The United Nations Security Council welcomes work by Lebanon to exercise its sovereignty over the whole country and urges Israel and Lebanon to respect the ceasefire reached last year.

“The members of the Security Council welcomed the efforts and commitments of the Lebanese government to exercise its sovereignty over its whole territory, through the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and recognize no authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon,” the international body says.

The organization also urges the international community to continue support for the Lebanese Armed Forces in their deployment south of the Litani River.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah and Israel were both required to withdraw from south Lebanon, while UNIFIL deployed there alongside the Lebanese military, in part to help dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure.

Israel has maintained its troops in five locations it deems strategic, and kept up regular strikes on what it says are Hezbollah targets violating the truce.

The statement also gives full backing to the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, and urges “all parties to take all measures to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises and recalled that peacekeepers must never be targeted by attack.” In a number of recent incidents, the IDF has dropped munitions near UNIFIL troops. The IDF has said on some occasions that the grenades were dropped to disperse Hezbollah operatives.

UNIFIL has been deployed since 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon, and numbers some 10,000 personnel from almost 50 countries. In August, the UN Security Council voted to end UNIFIL’s mission in 2027.