UN peacekeepers resume limited access in southern Lebanon as mandate nears expiration
UNIFIL has reopened parts of its eastern sector in southern Lebanon after months of restrictions, while its mandate is set to expire at year-end amid U.S. and Israeli opposition to renewal.
UN peacekeepers have begun moving back into the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, a region that had been off-limits for several months due to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The French battalion’s Sgt. Audric said the reopening “is an opportunity for us” and restores the force’s freedom of movement after the ceasefire was negotiated.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has operated in the area since 1978, is scheduled to see its mandate end this December. The force’s original role was to monitor Israel’s withdrawal and support Lebanese authority in the south; a 2006 UN resolution that created a security framework is now facing renewed challenges.
Israel maintains a buffer zone it calls the “yellow line,” a five-mile-wide strip intended to prevent Hezbollah rocket fire. UNIFIL’s Spanish public information officer Lt. Col. Sebastián Dorado Santos noted that the line “does not exist for us, but we have to mark it on the map so that we can visualize it,” adding that it disrupts civilians’ daily lives and hampers access to farmland as the harvest season approaches.
Local officials highlighted the humanitarian impact. Mayor Salman Abou al-Ola of the town of Mari said agriculture is the main source of income and that farmers need access to their fields. Father Hani Tawk, coordinating Catholic aid groups, said residents feel “they are not alone” when humanitarian convoys arrive. Residents such as Fayez Al Khaled, a Syrian displaced in Ain al-Arab, described the lack of medical services and limited assistance.
The Lebanese government has accused Israel of starting wildfires to deter returns, a claim the Israeli military has not addressed. UNIFIL’s Spanish contingent commander Maj. Jesús Fernández Manchado said the “yellow line affects all our activities because it represents a new reality on the ground,” separating homes from land.
In addition to the yellow line, “pilot zones” are being established where Israeli and Hezbollah forces are to withdraw and Lebanese troops will take over. Residents in villages such as Zawtar al-Gharbieh report seeing remnants of Israeli occupation, including tanks and makeshift shelters, while many homes remain destroyed and basic services unavailable.
The situation underscores a shift from the historic “blue line” demarcation to a fragmented landscape marked by drone activity, restricted zones, damaged infrastructure and ongoing airstrikes.