Libanon

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to U.N. Security Council members stressing the need ​for a continued uniformed U.N. presence in Lebanon after the mandate of the U.N. Interim ‌Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires at the year-end. Guterres outlined three options to replace the 7,500-strong UNIFIL in a letter to the 15 members of the Security Council dated Monday and seen by Reuters. They ranged from a light presence with limited capabilities to ​a more robust force with broader monitoring and de-escalation capabilities, and from around 1,980 to ​5,525 uniformed personnel.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of "pilot" security zones inside Lebanon in which Hezbollah operatives would be banned, the US state department has announced. A joint statement said the agreement was "contingent on a complete cessation" of attacks by the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, among other conditions.

Monday’s hastily convened meeting of the UN Security Council at the request of France in response to escalating violence in Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants has underlined deepening international concern as the conflict intensifies, despite ongoing US mediation efforts.

Under pressure from Washington not to attack Beirut – where, according to Israel, the bulk of Hezbollah's military capabilities are located – the Israeli army is instead intensifying its operations in southern Lebanon.

Direct talks begin Thursday between the Israeli government, which has little incentive to compromise, and Lebanese officials unable to disarm Hezbollah, as deadly escalation continues between the Israeli military and the Shiite movement.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott tells Al Jazeera that the United States is working to create conditions for “good faith conversations” between Lebanon and Israel, while accusing Hezbollah of trying to derail diplomacy through attacks and threats.

Israel has attacked Beirut for the first time since it agreed to a ceasefire in the war with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, putting further pressure on a deal that has failed to stop the conflict.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Monday that Hezbollah’s defiance would bring catastrophic consequences for Lebanon after the militant group’s leader rejected proposed direct talks between the two countries.

A ceasefire in Lebanon will go on for three more weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump announced following talks yesterday with Israeli and Lebanese envoys.

Some form of ongoing UN presence might continue after a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon ends later this year, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Thursday. … Lacroix told reporters in Geneva that he was consulting with all parties about the options after its mandate formally stops at the end of December and will make formal recommendations to the Security Council by June.