The contingent of roughly 10,000 peacekeepers deployed under the auspices of the United Nations in southern Lebanon has called for de-escalation in the intensifying conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and warned that further Israeli military action would not bring a lasting solution to the crisis along the war-torn border.
“Dialogue and de-escalation are more important than ever,” U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Kandice Ardiel told Newsweek. “UNIFIL strongly believes that issues should be addressed at the negotiating table, through a political and diplomatic solution—not through violence, and not through violations of international resolutions or international law.”
But the conflict has only deepened since the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a ground offensive against Hezbollah, also spelled Hizbullah, earlier this month. The operation was conducted amid worsening clashes between the two sides as the Lebanese group began launching daily cross-border strikes in solidarity with the Palestinian Hamas movement, which mounted a massive attack against Israel last year, sparking a yearlong war in the Gaza Strip.
Now, UNIFIL, already the deadliest of the U.N.’s many peacekeeping missions, is caught in the crossfire. Ardiel said that peacekeepers have reported more than two dozen incidents this month in which personnel were wounded or their positions damaged. She said most of these attacks were attributed to the IDF, which has “repeatedly targeted our positions,” while others were of “unknown” origin.
She also said “Hizbullah’s rocket launches from locations near our positions have put peacekeepers in danger,” though disarming the group in line with the U.N. Security Council resolution that put an end to the last war in 2006 was not within the power of peacekeepers—nor it could be effectively achieved through further Israeli force.
“The proliferation of weapons outside state control in Lebanon is a flagrant violation of 1701, but UNIFIL is not mandated to disarm Hizbullah or other groups by force,” Ardiel said. “The removal of unauthorized weapons from southern Lebanon can only be achieved through the full implementation of resolution 1701. Military action from Israel will not solve this in any sustainable way.”
AFP/Getty Images
Newsweek has reached out to the IDF for comment.
In a video address issued October 14, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected allegations that the IDF deliberately targeted UNIFIL positions as “completely false.”
“It’s exactly the opposite,” Netanyahu said at the time. “Israel repeatedly asked UNIFIL to get out of harm’s way. It repeatedly asked them to temporarily leave the combat zone, which is right next to Israel’s border with Lebanon.”
The Israeli premier said that “Hezbollah uses UNIFIL facilities as it attacks Israeli cities and communities.” He expressed “regret” over harm to UNIFIL personnel but said that “the best way to ensure the safety of UNIFIL personnel to heed Israel’s request and get out of harm’s way.”
A spokesperson for Hezbollah told Newsweek that allegations of its fighters conducting operations near UNIFIL positions were “untrue” and instead accused Israeli troops of taking cover at U.N. peacekeeper sites.
“On the contrary, when the Zionist enemy forces took cover behind UNIFIL positions on several previous occasions, despite the resistance being exposed to danger, it did not approach or direct any bullets or anything towards UNIFIL positions for fear of their lives,” the Hezbollah spokesperson said. “The resistance will definitely not attack the forces.”
Ardiel also referenced one instance on October 13 in which “two IDF Merkava tanks forcibly entered one of our positions and took shelter for 45 minutes, saying it was to avoid taking fire.” In two other incidents, she added, Israeli forces directed small arms and tank fire against UNIFIL sites on October 10 in Naqoura and October 22 in Dhayra.
“While no peacekeepers were hurt in those two incidents,” she added, “five peacekeepers have been injured in previous ones (as well as 15 peacekeepers who suffered symptoms after inhaling an unknown smoke).”
UNIFIL reported Friday that its peacekeepers withdrew from Dhayra after the IDF fired at their position.
Throughout the Israeli operation in Lebanon, “damage by the IDF has included the destruction of perimeter-monitoring cameras, lighting, walls and fencing; the demolition of an observation tower, and more,” Ardiel said.
As for Hezbollah, she said that UNIFIL personnel have “identified a number of locations of interest, including a tunnel in Labbouneh that has subsequently been cleared of vegetation and highlighted by the IDF.” When UNIFIL expressed readiness to aid the Lebanese Armed Forces in inspecting the area, however, she said “Lebanese authorities informed us that this activity was taking place on private property, which we could not access without Lebanese army facilitation.”
“We have repeatedly reminded all actors of their obligations under international law to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property, and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times,” Ardiel said. “Deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law and Security Council resolution 1701.”
AFP/Getty Images
Of the 71 peacekeeping operations deployed by the U.N. around the world since the department was first established to monitor the Arab-Israeli armistice in 1948, UNIFIL has registered the most fatalities since its foundation three decades later. Some 337 personnel have been killed throughout the course of the mission.
Today, UNIFIL is comprised of 10,017 personnel from 48 nations, the top contributors of which are Indonesia, Italy, India, Ghana, Nepal, Malaysia, Spain, France, China and Ireland, whose forces defied an Israeli order to retreat during a high-profile incident earlier this month.
The current conflict marks the third time UNIFIL personnel have been caught up in a major conflict in southern Lebanon. The peacekeeping mission was first established in 1978 amid Lebanon’s multisided civil war and a weeklong Israeli invasion to target Palestinian militias operating in the area.
Israel launched a second invasion of war-torn Lebanon in 1982 and would occupy parts of the country until 2000. During this time, Hezbollah would emerge as the most powerful of several factions battling Israeli troops and their Lebanese militia ally, the South Lebanon Army, and the group went on to retain its weapons after the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990 and the withdrawal of Israeli forces a decade later.
With support from Iran, Hezbollah continued to expand its arsenal. Following a period of occasional clashes at the Israel-Lebanon border, a monthlong war erupted in 2006 in response to a deadly Hezbollah cross-border raid, culminating in a truce backed by U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.
“UNIFIL supports the Lebanese and Israeli authorities in their implementation of Resolution 1701 which, from 2006 to 2023, led to an unprecedented period of stability,” Ardiel said. “This happened despite the fact that neither side fully implemented their obligations under the Resolution.”
“But by leveraging our liaison and coordination mechanisms, our direct conversations with authorities on both sides, and our impartial monitoring and reporting of violations,” she added, “we were able to help avoid significant escalation for all those years.”
JALAA MAREY/AFP/Getty Images
Even before the eruption of hostilities last October, Israel and Hezbollah have long accused one another of violating U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 by conducting activities along or across the border, known as the Blue Line. Israeli officials have also accused UNIFIL of not enforcing the resolution by failing to prevent Hezbollah activity on the Lebanese side of the disputed boundary.
The current conflict shows little sign of abating. Israeli forces have expanded ground and air operations in Lebanon with the stated goal of returning tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to their northern communities, while Hezbollah vows to fight on even after suffering blows to its command and control, including the killing of longtime Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel’s ally, the United States, has supported the IDF’s decision to enter Lebanon while at the same time saying it opposes another long-term occupation. Hezbollah’s ally, Iran, has continued to back the vanguard of its Axis of Resistance coalition that also includes factions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen also active in striking Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran and Israel’s decades-long rivalry has entered a new phase of direct conflict. Netanyahu has vowed to strike back at Iran over a large-scale missile strike conducted against Israel earlier this month in response to Israeli operations across the region, including the assassinations of Iranian and Iran-allied personnel abroad.
But amid the ongoing violence and threats of escalation, Ardiel said that “peacekeepers remain in position” to carry out their duties with the goal of restoring calm.
“Despite what has happened since 8 October 2023, we still believe that, with the parties’ commitment, we can get back to stability, and that Resolution 1701 is the framework to get there,” Ardiel said. “Peacekeepers are ready to support any action agreement that will help achieve that.”
