UN urges ceasefire between Israel, Hezbollah amid ongoing cross-border clashes

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) and the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, following a series of cross-border attacks. 

Both UN bodies issued a statement on August 26 expressing serious concern over the escalating violence along the Blue Line, the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The statement emphasized the need for both sides to halt hostilities immediately and avoid further escalation. It also reiterated that a return to a ceasefire and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 is essential for lasting peace. Resolution 1701, unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council on August 11, 2006, calls for a complete halt to hostilities between Lebanon and Israel and the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Blue Line and the Litani River in southern Lebanon, with only Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL permitted in the area.

UNIFIL and UNSCOL also stressed that they would continue efforts to encourage de-escalation between the parties involved.

The situation has intensified after Israeli warplanes conducted over 40 airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday, marking the heaviest bombardment since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah resumed on October 8, 2023. According to the Israeli military, these strikes were intended to prevent an imminent attack by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, in response, claimed to have launched hundreds of missiles and drones deep into Israeli territory as part of the "first phase" of its retaliation for the assassination of its commander, Fouad Shukr, in Beirut last month.

Since October 8, 2023, daily clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli military across the Lebanese-Israeli border have resulted in hundreds of casualties, primarily on the Lebanese side. The recent surge in violence has heightened fears of a broader conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, especially after the assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut on July 30.

The escalation between Israel and Hezbollah is occurring against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, where Israeli military operations following the October 7 Hamas incursion have resulted in over 40,000 Palestinian deaths and widespread devastation, leaving much of the territory in ruins and its people homeless, hungry, and vulnerable to disease.