Security Council renews UNIFIL mandate, sounds alarm over Israel-Hezbollah fighting
UN body warns of ‘high risk’ that border skirmishes could result in ‘widespread conflict,’ urges ‘calm, restraint and stability’ as it extends peacekeeping mission for another year
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council on Wednesday extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon for another year while demanding a halt to the growing attacks between the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon and Israeli forces.
The council’s 15 members unanimously approved a resolution that urges the “relevant actors” to restore “calm, restraint and stability” across the UN-drawn boundary between Israel and Lebanon, and warned that further escalation “carries the high risk of leading to a widespread conflict.”
UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after the end of the 1978 conflict between the two nations. The UN expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority into the country’s south for the first time in decades.
That resolution also called for a full cessation of Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities, which has not happened. The mandate has been renewed annually ever since, although some critics have questioned its efficacy.
Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon frequently accuse the UN mission of collusion with Israel, while Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, of impeding UNIFIL peacekeepers from carrying out their mandate.
During the ongoing clashes in south Lebanon, UNIFIL facilities or vehicles have been hit by shelling or gunfire on several occasions. Earlier this month, UNIFIL said three peacekeepers were on patrol and were lightly injured when an explosion occurred near their vehicle.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza during the war there.
So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 20 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 431 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but also some in Syria. Another 76 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
