Lebanese Army Awaits Political Decision to Implement UNSCR 1701

Soldiers from the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the southern village of Marjayoun (AFP).
Soldiers from the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the southern village of Marjayoun (AFP).
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Lebanese Army Awaits Political Decision to Implement UNSCR 1701

Soldiers from the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the southern village of Marjayoun (AFP).
Soldiers from the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the southern village of Marjayoun (AFP).

Discussions are underway on the role of the Lebanese army in maintaining security in South Lebanon amid rising optimism about a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701

As part of these preparations, the Lebanese government has begun strengthening the army by recruiting 1,500 new soldiers out of the 6,000 needed, aligning with the outcomes of the Paris Conference held on October 23, which allocated 200 million euros to support the military institution, from a broader package intended to help the Lebanese people during the Israel-Hezbollah war.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, a security official highlighted that the army currently has 4,500 personnel stationed south of the Litani River but requires additional manpower.

The unidentified official noted, however, that any effective deployment would require a political decision and government support. “The Lebanese military will implement Resolution 1701 as is, with no intention of clashing with any party. However, if Israel violates Lebanese sovereignty, the army is fully prepared to respond,” he said.

Although Hezbollah opposes withdrawing from south of the Litani and handing over border security duties to the Lebanese military and UNIFIL, claiming the army lacks the capabilities to defend against Israeli aggression, the security source clarified that the military has been authorized to repel any attacks but will avoid initiating conflict. The army’s expanded deployment depends on a political decision, which, once made, will see the military act without hesitation to uphold Lebanese sovereignty.

While military preparedness is essential, Brigadier General Wehbeh Qatisha argues that Lebanon’s security requires more than just troops or advanced weaponry at the border. The presence of the Lebanese military as a representative of the Lebanese state is also a significant deterrent. He pointed out that prior to 1970, Israel refrained from attacking Lebanon, despite a much smaller army. However, he cautioned that even with a substantial deployment today, the persistence of Hezbollah’s military presence would continue to undermine Lebanon’s stability and security.

Since the 1969 Cairo Agreement, which allowed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to launch operations against Israel from southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army has been restricted in its ability to enforce security along the border. After the PLO’s departure in 1982, Hezbollah took over military operations in the South. Even after the 2006 war and the adoption of Resolution 1701, which called for the Lebanese military and UNIFIL to secure the border, Hezbollah retained its armed presence and continued to conduct exercises simulating conflict with Israel. The latter violated the international resolution thousands of times, until the last war broke out against the background of turning southern Lebanon into a front supporting Gaza.

Qatisha emphasized that the path to stability lies in comprehensive implementation of international resolutions, particularly 1701 and 1559, and restricting arms to the Lebanese army. He argued that achieving balanced deterrence requires not only military force but also a commitment to diplomacy and international support.



Many in Gaza are Eating Just Once a Day, as Hunger Spreads amid Aid Issues

An Israeli tank and other military vehicles guard a position as Palestinians flee Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on January 26, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.  (Photo by Mahmud Hams / AFP)
An Israeli tank and other military vehicles guard a position as Palestinians flee Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on January 26, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.  (Photo by Mahmud Hams / AFP)
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Many in Gaza are Eating Just Once a Day, as Hunger Spreads amid Aid Issues

An Israeli tank and other military vehicles guard a position as Palestinians flee Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on January 26, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.  (Photo by Mahmud Hams / AFP)
An Israeli tank and other military vehicles guard a position as Palestinians flee Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on January 26, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.  (Photo by Mahmud Hams / AFP)

Yasmin Eid coughs and covers her face, cooking a small pot of lentils over a fire fed with twigs and scrap paper in the tent she shares with her husband and four young daughters in the Gaza Strip.
It was their only meal Wednesday — it was all they could afford.
“My girls suck on their thumbs because of how hungry they are, and I pat their backs until they sleep,” she said.
After being displaced five times, the Eids reside in central Gaza, where aid groups have relatively more access than in the north, which has been largely isolated and heavily destroyed since Israel began waging a renewed offensive against the militant group Hamas in early October. But nearly everyone in Gaza is going hungry these days. In the north experts say a full-blown famine may be underway, The Associated Press said.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, accusing them of using “starvation as a method of warfare” — charges Israel adamantly denies.
In Deir al-Balah, the Eids are among hundreds of thousands sheltering in squalid tent camps. The local bakeries shut down for five days this week. The price of a bag of bread climbed above $13 by Wednesday, as bread and flour vanished from shelves before more supplies arrived.
The United Nations humanitarian office warned of a “stark increase” in the number of households experiencing severe hunger in central and southern Gaza. It appeared to be linked to the robbery at gunpoint of nearly 100 aid trucks last weekend in southern Gaza, close to Israeli military positions. Israel blamed Hamas but appears to have taken no action to stop the looting, while Hamas said it was the work of local bandits.
Aid groups say the looting is one of many obstacles to getting food and other vital aid to the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians. They also have to contend with Israeli movement restrictions, ongoing fighting, and heavy damage wreaked by the Israeli bombardment of roads and critical infrastructure.
For the Eids, hunger is the daily routine For months, Yasmin and her family have gone to bed hungry.
“Everything has increased in price, and we cannot buy anything," she said. “We always go to sleep without having dinner.”
She misses coffee, but a single packet of Nescafe goes for around $1.30. A kilogram (2 pounds) of onions goes for $10, a medium bottle of cooking oil for $15 — if available. Meat and chicken all but vanished from the markets months ago, but there are still some local vegetables. Such sums are astronomical in an impoverished territory where few people earn regular incomes.
Crowds of hundreds wait hours to get food from charities, which are also struggling.
Hani Almadhoun, co-founder of the Gaza Soup Kitchen, said his teams can offer only small bowls of rice or pasta once a day. He said they “can go to the market on one day and buy something for $5, and then go back in the afternoon to find it doubled or tripled in price.”
Its kitchen in the central town of Zuweida operated on a daily budget of around $500 for much of the war. When the amount of aid entering Gaza plummeted in October, its costs climbed to around $1,300 a day. It can feed about half of the 1,000 families who line up each day.
The sharp decline in aid, and a US ultimatum Israel says it places no limits on the amount of aid entering Gaza and has announced a number of measures it says are aimed at increasing the flow in recent weeks, including the opening of a new crossing. It blames UN agencies for not retrieving it, pointing to hundreds of truckloads languishing on the Gaza side of the border.
But the military's own figures show that the amount of aid entering Gaza plunged to around 1,800 trucks in October, down from over 4,200 the previous month. At the current rate of entry, around 2,400 trucks would come into Gaza in November. Around 500 trucks entered each day before the war.
The UN says less than half the truckloads are actually distributed because of ongoing fighting, Israeli denial of movement requests, and the breakdown of law and order. Hamas-run police have vanished from many areas after being targeted by Israeli airstrikes.
The war started Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are dead, and Hamas militants have repeatedly regrouped after Israeli operations, carrying out hit-and-run attacks from tunnels and bombed-out buildings.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many of the dead were fighters.
The United States warned Israel in October that it might be forced to curtail some of its crucial military support if Israel did not rapidly ramp up the amount of aid entering Gaza. But after the 30-day ultimatum expired, the Biden administration declined to take any action, saying there had been some progress.
Israel meanwhile passed legislation severing ties with UNRWA. Israel accuses the agency of allowing itself to be infiltrated by Hamas — allegations denied by the UN.
Israeli news outlets have reported that officials are considering plans for the military to take over aid distribution or contract it out to private security companies. Asked about such plans Wednesday, government spokesman David Mercer said “Israel is looking at many creative solutions to ensure a better future for Gaza.”
Yoav Gallant, the former defense minister who was seen as a voice of moderation in the far-right government before being fired this month, warned on X that handing over aid distribution to a private firm was a “euphemism for the beginning of military rule.”
As that debate plays out in Jerusalem, less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away from central Gaza, most Palestinians in the territory are focused on staying alive in a war with no end in sight.
“I find it difficult to talk about the suffering we are experiencing. I am ashamed to talk about it,” said Yasmin’s husband, Hani. “What can I tell you? I’m a person who has 21 family members and is unable to provide them with a bag of flour.”