Shafaq News – Beirut

Lebanon has formally lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council, accusing Israel of constructing two concrete walls inside Lebanese territory along the southern frontier, a move Beirut says constitutes a new violation of sovereignty amid rising border tensions.

The complaint, delivered through Lebanon’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, follows field assessments by the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL indicating that sections of the barrier extend beyond the demarcated Blue Line. According to UNIFIL’s findings, the construction has restricted access to more than 4,000 square meters of land claimed by Lebanon — an area Beirut claims is fully within its internationally recognized borders.

In a statement, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said Israel’s actions “represent a deliberate encroachment on national territory” and warned that the expansion of barrier infrastructure risks destabilizing the already fragile situation in the south. The ministry urged the Security Council, the UN, and the Arab League to intervene immediately to halt what it described as “unilateral measures carried out by an occupying power.”

Beirut’s protest comes after weeks of monitoring Israeli engineering activity in the border towns of Yaroun and Maroun al-Ras. Lebanese officials say the two new walls — some sections of which are several meters high — were erected without coordination with UNIFIL and cut into farmland traditionally worked by residents of the area.

Israel has not publicly commented on the specific sections cited in Lebanon’s complaint, but Israeli media have described the recent work as reinforcement measures aimed at “preventing infiltration” along sensitive stretches of the frontier.

UNIFIL, tasked with monitoring adherence to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, said it is reviewing Lebanon’s claims and has conducted multiple technical inspections on the ground. The peacekeeping mission urged all sides to avoid unilateral actions and reaffirmed that any barrier construction must remain strictly south of the Blue Line.

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces remain deployed at five positions south of the Litani River and continue to conduct strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon, and Beirut’s southern suburbs. UNIFIL has documented more than 7,500 Israeli air violations and nearly 2,500 ground breaches north of the Blue Line up to November 20.

The United Nations confirmed that intensified strikes have damaged infrastructure and prevented displaced families from returning home. Updated figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Health place the overall toll at 335 people killed and 973 wounded since the ceasefire took effect.

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