The French battalion of UNIFIL uncovered an artillery position belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization, with a firing range of 15 kilometers, as well as an ammunition storage facility near the Israeli border.
A UNIFIL spokesperson stated that from the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in November last year until August 25 this year, UNIFIL forces identified 318 weapons caches in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese government announced that the Lebanese army successfully dismantled more than 500 Hezbollah military positions and weapons caches located south of the Litani River between the ceasefire and June of this year.
On August 9, six Lebanese soldiers were killed while uncovering a Hezbollah weapons cache in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously decided to extend the mandate of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon through December 31, 2026.
The resolution also stipulates UNIFIL will then begin a one-year "orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal of its personnel," in close consultation with the Lebanese Government.
UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel and operates near the border. One of its tasks is to implement Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
Resolution 1701 states that Hezbollah must not be allowed to operate in southern Lebanon and the entire area of southern Lebanon must be free of any armed personnel and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon.
Israel and the US have long argued that UNIFIL has been a largely ineffective presence. The peacekeepers have repeatedly been accused of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah's massive military build-up, and their presence has at times been seen as an impediment to Israeli security operations.
In October of 2024, the IDF revealed that approximately 25 rockets and missiles had been launched at Israeli communities and IDF troops from Hezbollah’s terrorist compounds embedded near UNIFIL posts in southern Lebanon, exploiting their proximity to UN forces. One of the attacks resulted in the deaths of two IDF soldiers.
As a result of these attacks, the IDF conducted strikes near UNIFIL posts, making sure to warn the peacekeepers beforehand and requesting that they vacate the posts. Nevertheless, UNIFIL accused Israel of deliberately targeting its peacekeepers.