UNIFIL: Handed over to Lebanese army 225 weapons caches south of the Litani River

Ya Libnan

13-05-2025

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced that it had found more than 225 weapons caches concealed in the area south of the Litani River since November and indicated that it had handed them over to the Lebanese Army.
In a statement UNFIL said that 'more than 10,000 UNIFIL peacekeepers from approximately 50 countries continue to work around the clock to impartially monitor and report violations of Resolution 1701. UNIFIL coordinates its activities closely with the Lebanese Army, and some of them are implemented in cooperation with it.'
The statement indicated that ' since November, the Lebanese Armed Forces, with UNIFIL support, have redeployed to more than 120 permanent positions south of the Litani River. Full deployment continues to be hampered by the presence of Israeli forces on Lebanese territory. '
UN Resolution 1701 stipulates that Hezbollah should completely pull out from south of th Litani River and hand over its arms to the Lebanese army , but so far it has refused to completely withdraw or hand over its arms to the Lebanese army .
In a related development Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem appeared on TV on the occasion marking the ninth anniversary of the assassination of Mustafa Badreddine.
Badreddine
, who was killed in Syria, was a top Hezbollah military commander and was killed on a Hezbollah base in May 2016.
Israel said that the killing of Badreddine was an inside job
'We will remain standing, and the enemy will despair of our resolve and steadfastness', he said, adding
'We want a unified Syria for all its people, without attacks on minorities, and we condemn the Israeli attacks against it.'
'We will remain standing, and the enemy will despair of our resolve and steadfastness,' he said, adding, 'We do not accept being humiliated. We will always be proud and victorious. We believe in victory or martyrdom based on commitment to justice and human liberation.'
He added: 'We believe that the resistance is always victorious through sacrifices and the blood of martyrs. Lebanon and the resistance have committed to the ceasefire south of the Litani River, while Israel has not withdrawn or ceased its aggression, violating the agreement more than 3,000 times.'
Hezbollah won't surrender
He blamed the Lebanese government for last week's attack in southern Lebanon that resulted in the killing of a Hamas and a Hezbollah commander
'The aggression that occurred a few days ago in southern Lebanon is the responsibility of the Lebanese state and the sponsors of the ceasefire. The state must exert more pressure and take more action. We will not submit to threats and pressures, and we will not surrender.'
Qassem who fled to Tehran last October has since delivered several speeches but reportedly gets very little respect from Hezbollah political leaders inside Lebanon.
The militant group has been substantially weakened by Israeli attacks and has been pushing the Lebanese government to rebuild the tens of thousands of Shiite homes that were destroyed in the war .
But the Lebanese government which is bankrupt is in no position to rebuild since according to the World Bank the cost of rebuilding will be over 11 Billion Dollars.
None of Lebanon's friends is willing to help rebuild before Hezbollah disarms
Ya Libnan/ El Nashra