The United Nations intends to bolster its peacekeeping mission in Lebanon to better support the Lebanese army once a truce is agreed but would not directly enforce a ceasefire, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Thursday.
Archiv: Aroldo Lazaro (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon commander since February 2022 / probably the worst so far)
Israel destroys 37 towns, over 40,000 houses in deadly onslaught on Lebanon
The Israeli army has erased 37 towns and destroyed more than 40,000 housing units since the start of its deadly offensive on Lebanon last year, local media said on Tuesday.
The state news agency NNA said the destruction is concentrated in an area extending three kilometers deep from Naqoura to the outskirts of Khiam in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s path of destruction in southern Lebanon raises fears of an attempt to create a buffer zone
(November 1, 2024)
Israeli warplanes and ground forces have blasted a trail of destruction through southern Lebanon the past month. The aim, Israel says, is to debilitate the Hezbollah militant group, push it away from the border and end more than a year of Hezbollah fire into northern Israel.
Even United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanese troops in the south have come under fire from Israeli forces, raising questions over whether they can remain in place.
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon not able to patrol
United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon have been unable to conduct patrols because of the intensity of Israeli strikes and Hezbollah’s rockets targeting Israel, a UN spokesman said Monday.
With more than 10,000 personnel, the peacekeeping force has been stationed in Lebanon since 1978, with its role strengthened after a 33-day conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
More than 1,000 Lebanese people killed in Israeli strikes in less than two weeks
Israeli airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon have killed at least 1,030 people – including 156 women and 87 children – in less than two weeks, according to Lebanon‘s Health Ministry. For more information, Yuka Royer interviews Ettie Higgins, Deputy Representative at UNICEF, in Beirut, Lebanon.
Dramatic uptick in violence as Guterres voices grave alarm at Lebanon-Israel escalation
The UN mission which patrols the Blue Line separting Lebanon and Israel, UNIFIL, expressed „grave concern for the safety of civilians“, amid what has been the deadliest day of violence and bombing by Israel since the October terror attacks sparked the regional crisis.
Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro, Head of Mission and Force Commander of UNIFIL, has contacted both Lebanese and Israeli parties, emphasizing the urgent need for de-escalation. „Efforts are ongoing to reduce tensions and halt the shelling“, the mission added.
Any further escalation of this dangerous situation could have far-reaching and devastating consequences, not only for those living on both sides of the Blue Line but also for the broader region.
Attacks on civilians are not only violations of international law but could amount to war crimes, UNIFIL reminded.