What’s Behind the UNIFIL Attacks?

FILED - 26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfrachouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfarchouba. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfrachouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfarchouba. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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What’s Behind the UNIFIL Attacks?

FILED - 26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfrachouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfarchouba. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfrachouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfarchouba. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

Efforts to restore state authority across Lebanon and enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1701 - which mandates a zone free of unauthorized weapons south of the Litani River - have been met with fresh hostilities targeting UN peacekeepers in the country’s southern border areas.

In recent days, attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have resurfaced, echoing tactics previously used by Hezbollah to send political messages.

The latest incident occurred on Tuesday in the southern town of Bint Jbeil, where local residents reportedly blocked a UNIFIL patrol from entering without a Lebanese army escort.

On Friday, two young men in the town of Tayr Debba obstructed an armored UNIFIL convoy, forcing it to withdraw. A widely circulated video showed one of the men stating: “They’re not allowed to enter without the Lebanese army.”

Sources at the Presidential Palace told Asharq Al-Awsat that President Joseph Aoun raised the issue during a recent meeting with UNIFIL Commander Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro.

The president underscored the need for close coordination between UNIFIL and the Lebanese army to avoid friction with residents. The army, the sources added, is actively addressing such incidents to prevent escalation.

Government officials condemned the attacks as “unacceptable,” recalling Aoun’s firm stance two months ago when UNIFIL forces were assaulted near Beirut airport. At the time, Aoun described such acts as “reprehensible and condemned.”

Investigations into the Beirut airport incident led to the arrest of 25 individuals, of whom 19 were later released, while six remain under military court jurisdiction.

“Any grievances should be relayed to the army, which is deployed in these areas,” a senior source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The source warned that repeated disruptions could strain the vital relationship between peacekeepers and the local community. “Residents benefit from UNIFIL not only in terms of security, but also through social and humanitarian services,” the source added.

Political undertones are also suspected. Despite unified pledges from Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to uphold Resolution 1701 and stabilize the south, the nature of the attacks suggests a deliberate attempt to undermine these efforts.

“It’s puzzling,” the source said. “Clearly, a certain party is working to disrupt the relationship with UNIFIL - it’s as if someone is singing a different tune.”

Asked whether such incidents could hinder UNIFIL’s operations, the source responded: “The peacekeepers know these acts are not state-sanctioned. The Lebanese government is dealing with them. But if they continue, participating countries might reconsider their involvement.”

Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA), squarely blamed Hezbollah for orchestrating the confrontations.

“Hezbollah has long used civilians to harass UNIFIL as a form of messaging,” Kahwaji told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s a tactic to assert dominance, especially now that Lebanese leaders are signaling a shift toward disarming the group. These are Hezbollah’s reminders that it still controls the ground.”

“No one in these villages acts without Hezbollah’s directives,” he added, dismissing claims of spontaneous civilian protests as a cover.

Kahwaji warned that unless the government acts swiftly to detain perpetrators and prevent further escalation, the attacks may intensify and even target the Lebanese army, which is expanding its presence in the south.

UNIFIL deputy spokesperson Kandice Ardiel, responding to Friday’s incident, reaffirmed that the peacekeeping force is operating in close coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces to support the Lebanese government’s implementation of Resolution 1701 during this critical period.



Syrian Government Forces Begin Withdrawing from Sweida

Syrian security forces walk together along a street, after clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida early on Wednesday, collapsing a ceasefire announced just hours earlier that aimed to put an end to days of deadly sectarian bloodshed, in Sweida, Syria July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Syrian security forces walk together along a street, after clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida early on Wednesday, collapsing a ceasefire announced just hours earlier that aimed to put an end to days of deadly sectarian bloodshed, in Sweida, Syria July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
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Syrian Government Forces Begin Withdrawing from Sweida

Syrian security forces walk together along a street, after clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida early on Wednesday, collapsing a ceasefire announced just hours earlier that aimed to put an end to days of deadly sectarian bloodshed, in Sweida, Syria July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Syrian security forces walk together along a street, after clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida early on Wednesday, collapsing a ceasefire announced just hours earlier that aimed to put an end to days of deadly sectarian bloodshed, in Sweida, Syria July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri

Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire Wednesday after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country’s postwar political transition and drawn military intervention by powerful neighbor Israel.

Convoys of government forces began withdrawing from the city of Sweida, but it was not immediately clear if the agreement, announced by Syria's Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader, would hold. A previous ceasefire announced Tuesday quickly fell apart, and a prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, disavowed the new agreement.

Israeli strikes continued after the ceasefire announcement, reported The Associated Press.

Rare Israeli airstrikes in the heart of Damascus

The announcement came after Israel launched rare airstrikes in the heart of Damascus, an escalation in a campaign that it said was intended to defend the Druze and push militants away from its border. The Druze form a substantial community in Israel as well as in Syria and are seen in Israel as a loyal minority, often serving in the military.

The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province of Sweida.

The violence appeared to be the most serious threat yet to efforts by Syria’s new rulers to consolidate control of the country after an offensive by opposition factions ousted longtime despotic leader Bashar Assad in December, ending a nearly 14-year civil war.

Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in footage on state television early Thursday, called the Druze an integral part of Syria and denounced Israel's actions as sowing division.

“We affirm that protecting your rights and freedoms is among our top priorities,” he said, specifically addressing Druze people in Syria. "We reject any attempt — foreign or domestic — to sow division within our ranks. We are all partners in this land, and we will not allow any group to distort the beautiful image that Syria and its diversity represent.”

He said Israel sought to break Syrian unity and turn the country into a theater of chaos but that Syrians were rejecting division.

He said Syrians did not fear renewed war but sought the path of Syrian interest over destruction. “We assigned local factions and Druze spiritual leaders the responsibility of maintaining security in (Sweida), recognizing the gravity of the situation and the need to avoid dragging the country" into a new war, he said.

No official casualty figures have been released for the latest fighting since Monday, when the Interior Ministry said 30 people had been killed. The UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 300 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children, eight women and 165 soldiers and security forces.

Israel threatens further escalation

Israel has launched dozens of strikes targeting government troops and convoys heading into Sweida, and on Wednesday struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters next to a busy square in Damascus that became a gathering point after Assad's fall.

That strike killed three people and injured 34, Syrian officials said. Another Israeli strike hit near the presidential palace in the hills outside Damascus.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said after the initial Damascus airstrike in a post on X that the “painful blows have begun.”

Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria’s new leaders, saying it doesn’t want militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.

Kats said in a statement that the Israeli army “will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw from the area — and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood.”

An Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations said the army was preparing for a “multitude of scenarios" and that a brigade, normally comprising thousands of soldiers, was being pulled out of Gaza and sent to the Golan Heights.