{"id":545014,"date":"2026-07-16T21:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T21:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/545014\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T21:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T21:32:08","slug":"peacekeepers-step-up-support-as-families-return-to-south-lebanon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/545014\/","title":{"rendered":"Peacekeepers step up support as families return to south Lebanon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe welcome reduction in violence allows our peacekeepers to do more of what we are here to do,\u201d UNIFIL<\/a> spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said\u00a0in a press release<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)<\/a>\u2019s mandate is to enforce\u00a0Security Council Resolution 1701<\/a> \u2013 which set the terms for ending the fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli in 2006 \u2013 by monitoring hostilities, supporting Lebanese armed forces against Hezbollah militants, ensuring humanitarian access and securing Lebanon\u2019s border along the Blue Line of separation from Israel.<\/p>\n

A broken peace<\/p>\n

The 2006 resolution aimed to create lasting peace between Israel and Hezbollah and disarm the latter. Since 8 October 2023, UN\u00a0Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a>\u00a0has accused both sides<\/a> of violating the resolution.<\/p>\n

Israel and the Lebanese Government in Beirut have engaged in peace talks since June. UNIFIL has recorded dozens of projectiles over the past few days, which still represents a relative decrease in hostilities.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, as\u00a0many families have returned<\/a> to their homes in south Lebanon only to find their villages destroyed, UNIFIL peacekeepers have worked to facilitate humanitarian assistance by ensuring safe passage for aid convoys and help restore essential services such as healthcare and water.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs people have begun to return to their villages, a lot of work remains to be done,\u201d Ms. Ardiel said.<\/p>\n

Recent work on the ground<\/p>\n

In the past few weeks, UNIFIL has provided medical equipment and emergency room supplies to Tibnin Governmental Hospital, strengthening critical healthcare infrastructure.<\/p>\n

UNIFIL peacekeepers have facilitated the movement of civilian workers, technical teams, humanitarian convoys and mobile medical clinics carrying out repairs and services related to water networks, electricity systems, telecommunications infrastructure and healthcare delivery.<\/p>\n

Through these efforts, UNIFIL has helped repair and maintain water infrastructure in dozens of towns and villages in south Lebanon in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

Dealing with unexploded ordnance<\/p>\n

Another way UNIFIL protects civilians is by disarming the unexploded ordnances which now litter southern Lebanon and threaten local communities.<\/p>\n

Since the most recent escalation in March as the US and Israel began bombing Iran and Hezbollah joined the fight in support of Tehran, UNIFIL peacekeepers\u00a0have neutralized dozens<\/a> of unexploded ordnances, improvised explosive devices and crashed drones.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the Lebanese Armed Forces successfully neutralized several ordnances discovered by UNIFIL peacekeepers, according to UN spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric.<\/p>\n

\u201cExplosive hazards remain one of the most serious challenges facing returning communities,\u201d UNIFIL wrote in a press release.<\/p>\n

UNIFIL continues to urge all parties to comply with Resolution 1701: \u201cPeacekeepers continue to work alongside local authorities and communities to support recovery, reduce risks and contribute to long-term stability in south Lebanon,\u201d said the mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe welcome reduction in violence allows our peacekeepers to do more of what we are here to do,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-545014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}