Libanon

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon says Lebanese militant group Hezbollah must be disarmed by December 31. As that deadline nears, tensions are rising along with concerns of civil war or more Israeli attacks.

Israeli airstrikes took place within the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon’s (UNIFIL) area of operations, the mission said in a statement issued on Friday.  The strikes come as the Lebanese Armed Forces continue operations to control unauthorised weapons and infrastructure in south Lebanon a year after a cessation of hostilities was announced in the country.

The UN human rights office has urged a “prompt and impartial” investigation into Israeli strikes in Lebanon, warning of possible violations of international humanitarian law nearly a year after a ceasefire was signed. Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, cited an attack last week on the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp that killed 11 children.

Israel said it struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday, with President Joseph Aoun denouncing the new attacks as a "fully-fledged crime" and accusing Israel of rejecting Beirut's overtures towards diplomacy.

The Lebanese army has been ordered to confront any Israeli incursion on the country’s southern border, President Joseph Aoun announced on Thursday. The ramped-up rhetoric comes after an overnight attack in which Israeli soldiers crossed the border and entered a village, where they killed a municipal worker.

The United Nations and France have condemned Israeli fire near UN peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon, after a weekend incident during which peacekeepers neutralised an Israeli reconnaissance drone. 

The U.N. Human Rights Chief called on Wednesday for renewed efforts to bring a permanent end to hostilities in Lebanon, as Israeli air strikes continue despite an agreed ceasefire.

 The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Friday called on the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to refrain from further strikes and fully withdraw from Lebanese territory after Israeli strikes endangered peacekeepers and civilians overnight. he strikes come amid an ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza and continued violations of Security Council resolution 1701 by both Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants.

The Lebanese military will begin implementing its plan to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah, the government said on Friday following a cabinet meeting, amid opposition from the group and its allies. The cabinet discussed the plan on Friday despite a walkout by Shiite ministers in protest at the proposals.  

The United Nations said Wednesday that Israeli drones dropped four grenades near UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, with Israel insisting there was “no intentional fire” at the force. UNIFIL, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, called Tuesday’s incident “one of the most serious attacks” since a November ceasefire ended last year’s war between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.