UNIFIL Documents 6 Tunnels Crossing Blue Line Towards Israel

UNIFIL peacekeepers attend a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of their presence in South Lebanon, at the mission headquarters in Naqoura, on March 19, 2018 (Hassan Ammar/AP)
UNIFIL peacekeepers attend a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of their presence in South Lebanon, at the mission headquarters in Naqoura, on March 19, 2018 (Hassan Ammar/AP)
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UNIFIL Documents 6 Tunnels Crossing Blue Line Towards Israel

UNIFIL peacekeepers attend a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of their presence in South Lebanon, at the mission headquarters in Naqoura, on March 19, 2018 (Hassan Ammar/AP)
UNIFIL peacekeepers attend a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of their presence in South Lebanon, at the mission headquarters in Naqoura, on March 19, 2018 (Hassan Ammar/AP)

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has recorded six tunnels in the region of Kfar Kela in southern Lebanon that cross the Blue Line towards Israel.

UNIFIL Commander Major General Stefano Del Col said the tunnels were “breaching the Blue Line.”

In a meeting with journalists on Tuesday in Naqoura, he emphasized that UNIFIL recorded violations on both sides of the Blue Line and raised them in periodic reports to the United Nations.
 
He added that the continued Israeli occupation of the northern part of the town of Ghajar was a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Del Col called on the importance of tripartite meetings between the UN, Lebanon and Israel “in order to eliminate breaches on the ground.”
 
He pointed out that some violations that occur sometimes in the eastern sector, especially in the fishing seasons, are quickly resolved, stressing that approved engagement mechanism and tripartite meetings significantly reduce the occurrence of violations and events on the ground.
 
The UNIFIL commander revealed that the UN had introduced some amendments to Resolution 1701, without compromising its substance.

He explained that in 2017, UNIFIL reinforced its field patrols and the following year, it developed a plan to strengthen the capabilities of the Lebanese Army’s naval forces.
 
Del Col also emphasized UNIFIL’s role in protecting civilians and taking care of their needs through the civil affairs office, which is in constant contact with the municipalities.



Olmert: ‘Humanitarian City’ in Rafah Would Be Concentration Camp for Palestinians

Former Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert looks on during an interview with AFP (Agence France-Presse) in Paris on June 9, 2025. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
Former Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert looks on during an interview with AFP (Agence France-Presse) in Paris on June 9, 2025. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
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Olmert: ‘Humanitarian City’ in Rafah Would Be Concentration Camp for Palestinians

Former Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert looks on during an interview with AFP (Agence France-Presse) in Paris on June 9, 2025. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
Former Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert looks on during an interview with AFP (Agence France-Presse) in Paris on June 9, 2025. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert said that the “humanitarian city” that Israel’s defense minister has proposed building on the ruins of Rafah would be a concentration camp, and forcing Palestinians inside would be ethnic cleansing, the Guardian reported on Sunday.

Israel was already committing war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, Olmert told the daily, and construction of the camp would mark an escalation.

Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, has ordered the military to start drawing up operational plans for construction of the “humanitarian city” on the ruins of southern Gaza, to house initially 600,000 people and eventually the entire Palestinian population, stated the Guardian.

“It is a concentration camp. I am sorry,” Olmert told he daily, when asked about the plans laid out by Katz last week. Once inside, Palestinians would not be allowed to leave, except to go to other countries, Katz said.

The “humanitarian city” project is backed by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the area Katz envisages for the camp is a sticking point in the faltering negotiations for a ceasefire deal, Israeli media have reported.