The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called Friday for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to stop launching airstrikes into Southern Lebanon and to “fully withdraw from Lebanese territory,” following strikes on Thursday night which “endangered peacekeepers and civilians.”

The IDF reportedly warned civilians in Mais al-Jabal, Kfar Tibnit and Debbin to evacuate their homes. The IDF stated that its aircraft “struck terrorist targets,” listing the “Commander of Hezbollah’s Sinai Outpost” Ammar Hayel Qutaybani, a “Hezbollah ‘Radwan Force’ terrorist” in Tebnine, and a “Hezbollah vessel used to gather intelligence on IDF troops” off the coast of Naqoura (where UNIFIL’s headquarters are situated). According to UNIFIL, peacekeepers stationed in Deir Kifa, near Burj Qalawieh, had to move to shelter. There have been no reports of injuries or fatalities among the peacekeepers.

UNIFIL, a UN peacekeeping mission, called the strikes a violation of Security Council resolution 1701. Resolution 1701 was unanimously adopted in 2006 to de-escalate tensions between Hezbollah and Israel following the July-August war. The resolution prescribed “immediate cessation of Hizbollah of all attacks and immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations.” It also established “full respect for the Blue Line,” a 120-kilometer “line of withdrawal” continuously monitored by UNIFIL. Any crossing of the Blue Line violates resolution 1701, which UNIFIL then reports to the Security Council.

A cessation of hostilities agreement was also signed by both Israel and Lebanon in November 2024. The agreement states that the Lebanese government will “prevent Hezbollah … from carrying out any operations against Israel” and similarly “Israel will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets.” UNIFIL stated that “continued escalation puts the hard-fought progress the parties have made to restore stability at risk” and that it would “observe IDF activities in the mission’s area of operation.” Nawaf Salam, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, called on X for the “international community…to exert maximum pressure on Israel to immediately cease its attacks and return to the mechanism, the Cessation of Hostilities agreement, and its obligations.”

UNIFIL was created in 1978 by resolutions 425 and 426, to ensure Israel’s full withdrawal from Lebanon. UNIFIL has warned Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah about violations of resolution 1701 multiple times.