UN Chief: High Anxiety of Renewed ‘Hezbollah’-Israeli Conflict

UN peacekeepers stand near the Lebanese village of Labbouneh near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon April 20, 2017. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers stand near the Lebanese village of Labbouneh near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon April 20, 2017. (Reuters)
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UN Chief: High Anxiety of Renewed ‘Hezbollah’-Israeli Conflict

UN peacekeepers stand near the Lebanese village of Labbouneh near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon April 20, 2017. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers stand near the Lebanese village of Labbouneh near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon April 20, 2017. (Reuters)

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that Lebanese group “Hezbollah’s” ongoing possession of illegitimate arms, as well as threatening rhetoric from Israeli officials, could lead to the eruption of a new conflict between the two enemies.

In his annual report on the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, he said that the threatening rhetoric from both sides "heightens risk of miscalculation and escalation into conflict."

The rhetoric, he added, has "resulted in increased anxiety, including among the local population."

The two sides last fought a war in 2006. Resolution 1701 helped broker a ceasefire between them.

Guterres urged “Hezbollah” and Israel "to exercise restraint at all times" and "refrain from potentially inflammatory comments."

The report was circulated on Friday at the Security Council.

In addition, Guterres highlighted allegations of arms transfers to “Hezbollah”, saying that they continue "on a regular basis," which the UN takes seriously. But it "is not in a position to substantiate them independently, he said.

He noted, however, that “Hezbollah” has displayed the weapons and acknowledged using them.

Resolution 1701 calls for “Hezbollah” and all other armed groups operating in Lebanon to be disarmed and demobilized. It also calls for the 10,700-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to monitor a zone south of the Litani River near Israel's border where “Hezbollah” is banned from keeping weapons.

Guterres stated that Israel informed UNIFIL of the presence of “Hezbollah” weapons and infrastructure in three specific locations in that zone, which the UN force closely monitored, including by aerial reconnaissance, satellite imagery and patrols.

But he remarked "no evidence to confirm the allegations was established."

Despite "relative calm" along the UN-drawn Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon the level of tensions between the two countries remains high, he said, while citing the heated rhetoric between “Hezbollah's” leaders and senior Israeli officials.

Guterres said he was equally concerned about continued Israeli overflights of Lebanese territory.

From July 1 to October 30, he said UNIFIL recorded 758 air violations totaling 3,188 overflight hours, "an increase of 80 percent compared with the same period in 2016." He added drones were involved in over 93 percent or 707 of the violations.

“Hezbollah’s” ongoing possession of arms and the meddling of its backer, Iran, in Lebanese internal affairs prompted Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to announce his resignation from Riyadh on November 4.

He has since suspended it, pending consultations with Lebanese officials to ease tensions in the country that erupted in wake of his surprise resignation. Guterres' report was written before Hariri returned to Beirut on Tuesday.

The UN chief stressed the importance of parliamentary elections taking place as scheduled in May 2018.

On Tuesday and on the eve of Lebanon’s Independence Day, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun called on the military to be completely prepared on the country’s southern border to “confront Israeli threats and violations.”

He urged soldiers to remain vigilant in the implementation of resolution 1701 in cooperation with UNIFIL.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, deemed the Lebanese warning as “nonsense.”

Aoun added: “The extraordinary political circumstances that Lebanon is passing through demands that you display the greatest levels of diligence and awareness.”

“You must exert efforts to take the necessary measures to preserve security stability,” he continued.



Local Peace Efforts in Yemen Outpace UN Performance

UN steps in late as local efforts succeed in reopening Yemen roads (UN)
UN steps in late as local efforts succeed in reopening Yemen roads (UN)
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Local Peace Efforts in Yemen Outpace UN Performance

UN steps in late as local efforts succeed in reopening Yemen roads (UN)
UN steps in late as local efforts succeed in reopening Yemen roads (UN)

Local peace initiatives in Yemen have made notable strides in recent years, eclipsing the stalled efforts of United Nations mediators since the collapse of the Kuwait-hosted peace talks in mid-2016, which were derailed by the Iran-aligned Houthis.

These efforts have achieved key breakthroughs, particularly in facilitating prisoner exchanges and reopening roads between provinces – areas where UN-led negotiations have largely faltered.

Since the Houthis seized the capital and toppled the internationally recognized government in late 2014, UN envoys have made limited headway. The only tangible outcome was the 2018 Stockholm Agreement, which sought to halt fighting around the strategic Red Sea port of Hodeidah – a deal that analysts say primarily benefited the Houthis.

A separate nationwide ceasefire was brokered through regional diplomacy in 2022, but it remains fragile and at risk of collapse amid repeated violations by Houthi forces.

In the realm of prisoner swaps, local initiatives have far outpaced the UN's achievements. While the United Nations has overseen the release of around 2,500 detainees from both government and Houthi sides, grassroots negotiators have facilitated the exchange of more than 11,000 prisoners, along with the recovery of dozens of bodies.

As interest in UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg’s visits and initiatives wanes among Yemenis, local politicians and activists say few expect him to achieve any real breakthrough.

Many believe Grundberg now waits for regional powers to lead negotiations and merely lends UN legitimacy to any resulting agreements.

While the UN-led process remains stalled, local initiatives have delivered meaningful gains, particularly in reopening roads long blockaded by Houthi forces. The rebels had used road closures to punish civilians and restrict the movement of goods into areas under their control.

Activists credit local mediators with playing a pivotal role in easing the Houthi-imposed siege on Taiz by reopening the key road linking the city center to the eastern suburb of Al-Hawban — a move widely seen as a humanitarian relief.

The momentum of these local efforts continued with the reopening of a major route connecting the southern port city of Aden to Houthi-held areas through the provinces of Al-Dhale and Ibb, restoring a vital commercial and civilian artery.

With no new rounds of UN-sponsored talks since the collapse of the Kuwait negotiations, Yemen’s grassroots peace initiatives are rekindling hopes for further breakthroughs beyond road openings and prisoner swaps.

Local mediators are now pushing the Houthis to reopen Al-Fakher road in Al-Dhale province, which leads to the neighboring city of Ibb.

They are also working to reopen a vital route linking Abyan and Al-Bayda provinces through the mountainous Thura Pass — a road that would cut travel time between the two regions by half.

The UN has expressed support for these local initiatives aimed at restoring road links across a country fractured by nearly a decade of conflict.

Grundberg’s office said it recently dispatched a delegation to Al-Dhale, where officials met with government representatives and security leaders to discuss the latest proposal to reopen the main route connecting the capital Sanaa with the southern port city of Aden via Al-Dhale.