Lebanon: Closed Consultations
Tomorrow afternoon (4 December), Council members are expected to receive a briefing in closed consultations on Lebanon. France, the penholder on the file, and the US requested the consultations following the announcement on 26 November of a cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel, which took effect on the following day. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix is the anticipated briefer.
Brokered by the US and France, the deal was agreed after over 13 months of hostilities, involving primarily Israel and Hezbollah. (For background, see the briefs on Lebanon and “The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question” in our November 2024 Monthly Forecast.)
France and the US shared a copy of the cessation of hostilities announcement in a 29 November letter to the Council (S/2024/870). The text frames the agreement as a set of “understandings” that reflect “steps to which Israel and Lebanon are committed” in order to fully implement resolution 1701. Adopted in 2006, resolution 1701 called for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah based on a series of principles, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river in Lebanon of “an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons” other than those of the government of Lebanon and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), as well as “no foreign forces” in Lebanon without its government’s consent. (The Blue Line is a withdrawal line set by the UN in 2000 to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. While not representing an international border, the Blue Line acts in practice as a boundary between Lebanon and Israel in the absence of an agreed-upon border between the two states.)
The cessation of hostilities announcement says that, upon its entry into effect, the Lebanese government will prevent Hezbollah and all other armed groups in the territory of Lebanon from carrying out any operations against Israel, while Israel will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets in the territory of Lebanon. As well, Lebanon will deploy its official military and security forces to all borders and border crossings. Israel will withdraw its forces south of the Blue Line in a phased manner and, in parallel, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will deploy to positions south of the Litani river and will begin carrying out a number of tasks detailed in the agreement, including dismantling all unauthorised infrastructure, military positions, and confiscating unauthorised arms—this would include any infrastructure and weapons belonging to Hezbollah and other armed groups in this area.
A key provision of the agreement concerns a mechanism to “monitor, verify, and assist in ensuring enforcement” of the commitments outlined in the cessation of hostilities agreement. This is a reformulated version of the tripartite mechanism established following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, which consisted of representatives of UNIFIL, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and the LAF, and was chaired by the UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander. Under the terms of the cessation of hostilities, the revised Mechanism will also include France and the US—which will chair the Mechanism—and will be hosted by UNIFIL.
Israel and Lebanon will report any alleged violations to the Mechanism and UNIFIL, and the Mechanism will develop procedures to “consult, inspect, gather information, and assist in ensuring the enforcement” of the commitments stipulated in the cessation of hostilities agreement. The Mechanism will coordinate the execution of a plan for the LAF’s deployment south of the Litani river and the “phased withdrawal” of the IDF south of the Blue Line, which “should not exceed 60 days”.
According to the cessation of hostilities agreement, the Mechanism will work with the Military Technical Committee for Lebanon (MTC4L) to strengthen the LAF’s capacity to inspect, dismantle unauthorised sites and infrastructure, and confiscate weapons and “prevent the presence” of armed groups. (The MTC4L is a multilateral technical coordination body led by Italy and comprised of partner nations, including Council members France, the UK, and the US.) The agreement also says that the US and France intend to work within the MTC4L to support the deployment of 10,000 LAF personnel to southern Lebanon “as soon as possible”.
At tomorrow’s meeting, Council members are likely to express support for the cessation of hostilities and describe it as an important step towards de-escalating violence. Members may stress the need for all parties to strictly adhere to the terms of the cessation of hostilities and restate the importance of the framework established by resolution 1701 as key for promoting stability across the Blue Line.
Several members may seek Lacroix’s views on whether the cessation of hostilities will hold. According to CNN, Israel has carried out daily strikes in Lebanon since 28 November, the day after the cessation of hostilities went into effect, with both France and the US reportedly warning Israel that they believe it violated the cessation of hostilities’ terms. In response, on 2 December Hezbollah fired at an IDF position in the Kfar Shuba hills. In turn, Israel carried out a series of airstrikes against what it said were Hezbollah targets in several areas in Lebanon, killing at least nine people, according to the Lebanese health ministry. On 3 December, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz reportedly said that, should the cessation of hostilities collapse, Israel will widen its strikes and there will no longer be “an exemption for the state of Lebanon”. Tomorrow, Council members are expected to express concern at the recent violations of the cessation of hostilities and call for restraint. Some members may also reiterate their calls on all parties to respect international law and emphasise the importance of ensuring the safety and security of UN peacekeepers.
Several members are likely to be interested in Lacroix’s views about UNIFIL’s role in the context of the cessation of hostilities, including as part of the Mechanism and, more broadly, in terms of supporting reconstruction efforts in its area of operations. Members may also seek an assessment of the LAF’s capacity to fulfil the tasks detailed in the cessation of hostilities agreement. They might emphasise in this regard the importance of the international community supporting the LAF to take on its increased role in southern Lebanon. Today (3 December), Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the LAF Command had announced a recruitment drive for the LAF and that the army had intensified its presence in the city of Tyre and nearby areas, noting that this marks “the start of a broader redeployment in southern Lebanon, particularly in border villages”.
Council members will continue to closely monitor the situations in Lebanon and Israel. They may choose to hold further meetings or issue a statement, depending on developments.
