The United Nations confirmed that Israel has constructed a wall that extends beyond the Lebanese border, amid Israeli assessments suggesting an imminent attack on Hezbollah.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, stated that the concrete wall built by the Israeli army has prevented local residents from accessing more than four thousand square metres of Lebanese land, roughly equivalent to one acre.
Dujarric added, citing UN peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL), that part of another wall extending beyond the Blue Line is also under construction east of Yaroun.
He noted that UNIFIL has informed the Israeli army of its findings and requested the removal of the wall.
In a separate statement, UNIFIL said that Israel’s presence on Lebanese territory and the construction activities it is carrying out there constitute a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, as well as an infringement on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Imminent Attack
Meanwhile, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday that the Israeli army is moving closer to launching a limited attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The newspaper stated that the army is approaching the execution of a limited operation against Hezbollah involving a series of airstrikes on weapons production facilities across Lebanon, particularly in the Bekaa Valley in the east and in Beirut to the west.
It claimed that the targeted locations are built underground or concealed among residential buildings and possess core capabilities for converting heavy, unguided rockets into precision missiles by modifying their warheads.
These reports come as Israeli officials escalate their threats in leaks to local media about launching a new military operation against Hezbollah, despite the ceasefire agreement that has been in effect since 27 November 2024.
According to the newspaper, Israeli assessments indicate that Hezbollah still possesses tens of thousands of rockets of various types.
Yedioth Ahronoth further claimed that since the end of the war and the implementation of the ceasefire, Hezbollah has produced thousands of new drones, including explosive drones.
The paper added that the group has not re-established its large former deployment sites along the fence, but members of the Radwan Unit have repositioned themselves in the area between the Litani River and the border, including in major cities such as Nabatieh in the south.
It also noted that the Israeli army continues to hold five positions in southern Lebanon, stretching over approximately 135 kilometres of the border, from Mount Dov, which includes the occupied Shebaa Farms, to Ras al Naqoura.
The newspaper referenced the Lebanese government’s declaration that all weapons should be controlled by the state and that Hezbollah must be disarmed. It added that over time, the Israeli army has found the mission progressing slowly.
Last Monday, the Israeli army announced that it had targeted Hezbollah positions in the Bekaa region, claiming they included infrastructure within a site used for producing and storing strategic weaponry.
In October 2023, armed border clashes erupted between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. In September 2024, Tel Aviv escalated these confrontations into a full-scale war that killed more than four thousand people, wounded around seventeen thousand, and caused extensive destruction across Lebanon.
Israel continues to violate the agreement by maintaining its occupation of five Lebanese hills in the south that it seized during the latest war, in addition to other Lebanese areas it has occupied for decades.
