By Pesach Benson, TPS
UNIFIL announced on Monday its peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon have uncovered more than 225 weapons caches since the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire went into effect in November.
“Since November, with UNIFIL support, the [Lebanese Armed Forces] has redeployed to more than 120 permanent positions south of the Litani. Full deployment is hindered by the presence of Israeli forces in Lebanese territory. Peacekeepers have found over 225 weapons caches and referred them to the LAF,” UNIFIL tweeted.
Under the terms of the ceasefire that went into effect on November 27, the Iran-backed Hezbollah is supposed to withdraw its armed presence from areas of southern Lebanon.
Israel continues to launch airstrikes targeting Hezbollah figures, weapons smuggling and stockpiles in southern Lebanon.
On May 8, the Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah-linked sites in southern Lebanon after ceasefire violations.
Days earlier, the IDF killed senior Hamas and Hezbollah operatives involved in cross-border attacks and arms trafficking, and hit weapons facilities across Lebanon.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon was established in 1978 to confirm Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
The “Blue Line” demarcating the 120 km-long Israeli-Lebanese border was created in 2000 by UN cartographers to verify Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, which the UN Security Council later certified as complete.
The border runs from Rosh HaNikra on the Mediterranean coast to Mount Dov, where the Israeli-Lebanese border converges with Syria.
According to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah is forbidden from operating in southern Lebanon south of the Litani River.
For years, Israeli officials have been critical of the peacekeepers for failing to prevent Hezbollah from entrenching itself in southern Lebanon.
After the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets and launching drones at northern Israel communities daily.
Meanwhile, the Wall St. Journal reported on Saturday that the Lebanese government is cracking down on Hezbollah’s presence at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, firing personnel associated with the terror group, detaining smugglers, and upgrading surveillance.
https://worldisraelnews.com/unifil-finds-hundreds-of-hezbollah-arms-stashes-in-southern-lebanon/?vwo_powered=1
