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Lebanon Requests Extension of UNIFIL Mandate without Modification

Vehicles belonging to UN peacekeepers drive along a road along the Lebanon-Israel border near the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila on September 1, 2019. (AFP)
Vehicles belonging to UN peacekeepers drive along a road along the Lebanon-Israel border near the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila on September 1, 2019. (AFP)
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Lebanon Requests Extension of UNIFIL Mandate without Modification

Vehicles belonging to UN peacekeepers drive along a road along the Lebanon-Israel border near the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila on September 1, 2019. (AFP)
Vehicles belonging to UN peacekeepers drive along a road along the Lebanon-Israel border near the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila on September 1, 2019. (AFP)

Lebanon said on Monday it wanted to extend the mandate of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) without any modifications to its mission.

President Michel Aoun delivered the request during a meeting at the Presidential Palace with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

He also noted the adoption of the UNIFIL budget on June 30, remarking that despite regional tensions, southern Lebanon has been enjoying stability since the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Aoun praised the existing cooperation between the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL, reiterating his condemnation of Israeli air violations, especially recent ones, through raids launched against Syrian territories from Lebanese airspace.

Aoun reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to the full implementation of UN resolution 1701, calling on the UN to compel Israel to also respect it.

For his part, Lacroix stressed that the UN will always stand by Lebanon, adding that UNIFIL will continue to implement resolution 1701, through the existing cooperation between the Lebanese army and international forces.

Lacroix also held talks with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab.

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Red Sea Marine Traffic Up 60% after Houthis Narrowed Targets

Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Red Sea Marine Traffic Up 60% after Houthis Narrowed Targets

Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Red Sea marine traffic has increased by 60% to 36-37 ships a day since August 2024, but is still short of volumes seen before Yemen's Houthis began attacking ships in the region, according to the commander of the EU's Aspides naval mission.

The number of merchant ships using the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait increased after missile and drone attacks by the Houthis slowed and the US and the extremist group signed a ceasefire deal, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview in Madrid.

But shipping traffic, which reached a low of 20-23 ships daily in August last year, is still short of an average of 72-75 ships a day seen before the Houthis began attacks in the Red Sea in November in 2023 in support of Palestinians over Israel's war in Gaza, said Gryparis according to Reuters.

The mission, which was established to safeguard navigation in the strategic trade route linking the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Asia through the Suez Canal, was extended in February when it was also tasked with tracking illegal arms shipments and monitoring vessels carrying sanctioned Russian oil.

The last attack on a merchant ship took place in November 2024 and the Houthis have also narrowed their objectives, saying their targets are Israeli ships and ships that have a connection with Israel or have docked at an Israeli port, Gryparis said.

"If you have a vessel that does not correspond to this criteria... there is a huge possibility - more than 99% - that you're not going to be targeted by the Houthis," Gryparis said.

Still, Gryparis said he could not guarantee that merchant ships won't be attacked.

Some companies have been deterred from using the route because of the mission's lack of ships, which can cause delays of as much as a week for those seeking to be escorted through the area, he said.

He said the mission has between two and three ships operating at one time and has requested the EU provide it with 10 ships to increase its capacity for protection.

The mission has provided close protection to 476 ships, shot down 18 drones, destroyed two remote-controlled boats used to attack ships and intercepted four ballistic missiles, he said.