The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has warned of a “very dangerous escalation,” with five peacekeepers killed in recent weeks, and called for a permanent ceasefire amid the fragile truce, Anadolu reports.
Ahead of a second round of Israel-Lebanon talks in the US today, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) has also reaffirmed that it recognises only the Blue Line — the UN-drawn boundary between Israel and Lebanon — as the basis for its operations.
“Our call is to reach a solution that would put an end to the conflict permanently,” Unifil spokesperson Tilak Pokharel tells Anadolu in an interview.
With a 10-day ceasefire currently in place between Israel and Hezbollah following weeks of escalating violence, Pokharel describes the truce as a “welcome sign,” but stresses that it remains temporary.
He points to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, and calls for a full cessation of hostilities, respect for the Blue Line and the deployment of Lebanese forces in the south alongside UN peacekeepers.
“The aim of Resolution 1701 is also a permanent ceasefire between the two countries,” he says, urging all sides to resolve the conflict through dialogue.
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