WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (KUNA) -- UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said that the "fragile" truce reached between Lebanon and Israeli occupying forces in November 2023 continues to hold.
Lacroix, who is currently in Lebanon with UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres, where they visited UN Interim Force in the country UNIFIL, made the remark virtually while addressing a UN Security Council (UNSC) session on challenges to peacekeeping in Lebanon late Friday.
The ceasefire agreement, signed on 27 November 2024, ended more than a year of hostilities between Lebanon's Hezbollah militants and Israeli occupying forces, triggered by the war on the Gaza Strip.
The UN peacekeeping official said Lebanese authorities have voiced keenness on implementing the agreement, adding that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have deployed to 93 locations south of the Litani River as of 15 January, compared with an estimated 10 locations on 27 November, and UNIFIL has supported many of these movements.
"With 10 days until the end of the stated 60-day period for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, however, Israeli demolitions of tunnels, buildings, and agricultural land continue," he said.
"Some airstrikes have also been reported, as have ongoing violations of Lebanese airspace," he said, noting that the continued presence of the Israel Defense Forces in Lebanon is a violation of resolution 1701. (end) amm.mt