Israeli demolitions in Lebanon draw UN concern

The United Nations said Saturday that Israeli detonations and demolitions in southern Lebanon were “deeply concerning” and must stop, a day after Israel said it used about 700 tonnes of explosives to destroy what it called tunnels in the Beaufort area.

The office of the UN special coordinator for Lebanon said the scale of the demolitions was having a devastating impact on civilian infrastructure, cultural heritage and the collective memory of communities.

The Israeli military carried out large overnight detonations near Beaufort castle, which was added last week to UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army destroyed “terror tunnels in the Beaufort area”.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the detonation on Friday “an extremely dangerous escalation” and “a direct threat” to the framework agreement reached with Israel during US-sponsored talks last month. He said the timing, before another round of talks with Israel in Rome next week, undermined international efforts to consolidate stability.

Under the Israel-Lebanon deal, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from “pilot zones” where Lebanese forces will later deploy.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported several further detonations in southern Lebanon and said at least one Israeli strike on Saturday wounded two people.

The Israeli military also said Saturday that it killed several Hezbollah fighters inside what it calls a security zone in Lebanon. It said an Israeli soldier was moderately injured and evacuated to hospital.

Speaking from southern Lebanon to mark Lebanese army day, army chief Rodolphe Haykal said: “We reject the continued Israeli occupation of any part of our territory.”

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with attacks on Israel. Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and a ground offensive that Lebanese authorities say have killed more than 4,300 people.