UN experts call for probe into Israeli ceasefire violations with Lebanon

A group of United Nations experts has voiced alarm about continued Israeli air and drone strikes in Lebanon, saying the attacks have caused mounting civilian casualties and widespread destruction despite a ceasefire agreed last November.

“Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to strike Lebanese territory almost daily,” the experts said in a statement on Friday, urging all parties to fully adhere to the cessation of hostilities and calling for investigations and accountability for all violations of international law.

“These attacks have resulted in a mounting toll of civilian deaths and injuries and destruction and damage of infrastructure, housing, the environment and agricultural zones vital to civilian livelihoods,” the experts added.

The statement came on the same day that Iran also criticised Israel’s violations of Lebanese sovereignty, and as Lebanese authorities reported more attacks by Israel in the country’s south.

Hezbollah and Israel signed a US-brokered truce in November last year, which put an end to more than a year of hostilities, including a two-month all-out war.

The two parties agreed to cease fire and withdraw their forces south of the Litani River. But both sides accuse the other of failing to fully implement the deal. Israel says Hezbollah still has infrastructure in the south, while Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel is occupying Lebanese soil by not withdrawing from five hilltop positions. Israel also continues to target Lebanon, especially in the south.

The UN experts said Israel’s repeated strikes and partial occupation of territory in Lebanon have left schools, health centres, and places of worship inaccessible, preventing the resumption of essential civilian life and services. They added that Israel’s conduct is “seriously undermining” efforts by Lebanese authorities to implement effective disarmament of the southern area.

Since last November, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has verified 108 civilian casualties in Lebanon, including 16 children. The UN report said Israeli soldiers abducted at least 19 civilians in the southern region. The experts also noted that more than 80,000 people remain displaced in Lebanon, unable to return to their homes.

‘Clear violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty’

On Friday, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported unspecified casualties in an Israeli strike targeting a car in the country’s south. And on Thursday, some of the heaviest Israeli raids since the ceasefire began hit south Lebanon, with the Ministry of Public Health saying one person was killed and seven others wounded. The Israeli army said it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure and facilities used by an NGO under US sanctions that Israel considers a cover for the group.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the strikes targeted civilian facilities, condemning a ceasefire violation and “a systematic policy aimed at destroying productive infrastructure” and hindering the country’s recovery.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Friday slammed the ongoing Israeli attacks as a “clear violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

In a statement, he also called out France and the United States – who are guarantors of the truce – for their “continued inaction and appeasement” towards Israel over the “repeated violation” of the deal.

In August, the Lebanese government made a decision to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, but Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has firmly rejected the mounting pressure.

However, the Iran-aligned group has been severely weakened by its most recent hostilities with Israel and the overthrow of key ally Bashar al-Assad, who it helped prop up in neighbouring Syria during its civil war.

Lebanese officials are now saying that resources are too limited to meet the deadline, but that they are aiming to fully clear a stretch along the Lebanon-Israel border, defined as south of the Litani River, by the end of November before moving into further phases.

On Friday, the UN Security Council also expressed support for the commitments made by the Lebanese government to exercise sovereignty over its entire territory.

“The members of the Security Council welcomed the efforts and commitments of the Lebanese government to exercise its sovereignty over its whole territory, through the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and recognize no authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon,” said a council statement, urging for global support to “the Lebanese Armed Forces in order to ensure their effective and sustainable deployment South of the Litani River.”