UNIFIL says it asked Israeli army to move walls, which cross unofficial \u2018Blue Line\u2019 border between Lebanon and Israel.<\/p>\n
Published On 14 Nov 202514 Nov 2025<\/p>\n
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The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon<\/a> (UNIFIL) says the Israeli military has constructed walls in Lebanese territory that cross a UN-backed, unofficial \u201cborder\u201d between the two countries.<\/p>\n The statement on Friday comes as Israel has carried out near-daily attacks across Lebanon<\/a> \u2013 including in the south of the country, in particular \u2013 despite a ceasefire signed a year ago with Lebanese group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n In UNIFIL\u2019s statement, the force said Israel had built \u201ca concrete T-wall\u201d southwest of Yaroun, a town in Lebanon\u2019s southern Nabatieh district.<\/p>\n The wall extends across the so-called Blue Line<\/a> and has made \u201cmore than 4,000 square metres [43,055sq feet] of Lebanese territory inaccessible to the Lebanese people\u201d, it added.<\/p>\n Established in 2000, the Blue Line is a 120km (75-mile) unofficial \u201cborder\u201d drawn up by the UN between Lebanon and Israel.<\/p>\n The demarcation line\u2019s main purpose is to confirm the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanese territory as mandated by UN Security Council resolutions.<\/p>\n In October, UNIFIL peacekeepers conducted a geospatial survey of a concrete T-wall erected by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) southwest of Yaroun.<\/p>\n \u2014 UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) November 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n UNIFIL said another section of the wall, southeast of Yaroun, also extends beyond the Blue Line.\u00a0\u201cUNIFIL informed the [Israeli army] of our findings and requested that they move the walls,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n In response to UNIFIL\u2019s statement on Friday, the Israeli military told the AFP news agency that the wall \u201cis part of a broader plan whose construction began in 2022\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the start of the war, and as part of lessons learnt from it, the [Israeli military] has been advancing a series of measures, including reinforcing the physical barrier along the northern border,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be emphasised that the wall does not cross the Blue Line,\u201d the military added.<\/p>\n \u2018Violations\u2019 of territorial integrity<\/p>\n Despite last November\u2019s ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army has killed more than 4,000 people and injured nearly 17,000 in its attacks on Lebanon, which began in October 2023 amid the Gaza war and turned into a full-scale offensive in September 2024.<\/p>\n As tensions increase<\/a>,\u00a0Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Thursday called for an end to Israel\u2019s military escalation in southern Lebanon, warning that it poses a threat to regional stability.<\/p>\n UNIFIL said \u201cIsraeli presence and construction in Lebanese territory are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and of Lebanon\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe again call on the [Israeli military] to respect the Blue Line in its full length and withdraw from all areas north of it,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, calls for a cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and the establishment of a weapons-free zone between the Blue Line and Lebanon\u2019s Litani River.<\/p>\n Under last year\u2019s ceasefire<\/a>, the Israeli army was supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon in January.<\/p>\n But it only partially withdrew, continuing to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.<\/p>\n