The dilemma of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon

The commanders of UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) have been stupefied by the Israeli army’s excuse that it has repeatedly attacked the blue helmets deployed in the south of the country, with a balance of almost twenty wounded so far, because Hezbollah uses them as “human shields.” “It’s a lie,” replies a high-ranking Spanish officer in undiplomatic terms. “In any case,” he adds, “it will be the other way around.” He is referring to the fact that, in the first week of October, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) placed tanks and armored vehicles next to position 6-52 of the UN mission, manned by the Irish contingent. The Israeli troops only withdrew after UNIFIL warned, through the usual channels, that they were making the blue helmets a target for possible retaliation by the Lebanese militia. The incident took place near the village of Marun al Ras, where Israeli soldiers had raised a flag with the Star of David over the ruins of an Iran-sponsored park.

Military experts are considering two hypotheses to explain Israel’s “repeated and deliberate” attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers, a force of 10,500 soldiers from around 50 countries whose commander-in-chief until February 2025 is Spanish Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro. The first is that it wants to force the UN peacekeepers to withdraw, so that there are no witnesses to their operations. On September 30, the eve of the start of the ground invasion of Lebanon, the IDF urged UN forces to evacuate their observation posts along the Blue Line — which serves as a delineation between the two countries — with the warning that they would become an area of operations against Hezbollah and their safety could not be guaranteed.

The head of the United Nations Department of Peace Operations (DPO), Jean-Pierre Lacroix, flatly rejected Israel’s request, following the recommendations of General Lázaro. A withdrawal would not only mean losing first-hand information about what was happening in one of the hottest areas of the world, but also losing positions that would be very difficult to recover in the future. What UNIFIL headquarters did do was reduce the number of personnel in these positions to a minimum, since the cancellation of patrols had drastically reduced their activity, and adopted the highest level of security measures. The civilian personnel working for UNIFIL — around 800 people — have been evacuated to Beirut.

On Sunday, Israeli Merkava tanks stormed the UN outpost in Ramya, in the sector under Italian responsibility, where 15 UN peacekeepers suffered from the after-effects of smoke shells exploding. A day earlier, a “vital” logistics convoy was blocked near Marjayoun, the Spanish brigade’s base. In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged UN Secretary-General António Guterres to withdraw the UN peacekeepers “from Hezbollah strongholds and combat zones,” arguing that they have become “hostages” of the Shia militia.

Military sources suggest another explanation for the Israeli attacks. The IDF has used reservists to support the forces deployed in Lebanon and these suffer from a marked lack of professionalism. Furthermore, its commanding officers are exhausted by the war in Gaza, which has lasted for over a year now, and, above all, they are accustomed to acting with total impunity.

Rules of engagement

The rules of engagement used by the Israeli army in the Strip, the same sources explain, are based on two principles: the mission must be accomplished regardless of collateral damage, and the life of an Israeli soldier is worth more than that of 100 Palestinian civilians. This explains the extremely high death toll in Gaza — over 42,000 people — despite the use of advanced technology and artificial intelligence. In contrast, in Lebanon, the Israeli military cannot act indiscriminately but is obliged to differentiate between Hezbollah fighters, members of the regular Lebanese Armed Forces, and UN troops, protected by international law. In theory, they cannot shoot first and ask questions later.

In reality, the hands of UNIFIL soldiers are tied. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, whose country has 870 soldiers in Lebanon, wondered last week whether the blue helmets should respond to Israel’s attacks and engage in combat with the IDF. This was a rhetorical question and a “provocation,” he admitted, but it may not be such a distant prospect.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 authorizes UNIFIL to “take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities” to “protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment” and to ensure the “security and freedom of movement” of both UN personnel and humanitarian workers. It also calls on the mission “without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.”

However, UNIFIL’s capabilities and the willingness of the countries contributing troops are far from contemplating its entry into combat. The mission was launched on the premise that there was a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that needed to be enforced. The role of the blue helmets was conceived as a subsidiary of the Lebanese Armed Forces, to support their deployment in the south of the country. When UNIFIL troops suspect the presence of a Hezbollah facility in their area, they alert the Lebanese military and ask them to search it. Most of the time, the Lebanese army does not.

Until now, UNIFIL’s role has been limited to taking note of breaches of the ceasefire; to being mere notaries of reality. However, the Lebanese Armed Forces have withdrawn from the south, the ceasefire they came to verify has crumbled, and Israeli attacks have turned the blue helmets into involuntary protagonists of the war. Before Christmas, many UN contingents, including the Spanish one, are due to be relieved, something that under the current conditions, according to military sources, is unfeasible. It will be time to consider whether to continue, and under what conditions.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition