UNIFIL Commander contradicts Israeli claims on Hezbollah rearming

The commander of UN forces in South Lebanon has told Israeli media that Hezbollah is not rearming, contradicting Israeli claims used to strike Hezbollah.

Diotto Abagnara, who took over as head of the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in June, told Israel's Channel 12 that he had seen "no evidence" that Hezbollah was rearming south of the Litani.

The accusation from Israel has been the major justification for continued Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon that have killed hundreds of people, which Abagnara also condemned as "blatantly violating the ceasefire agreement."

"A small mistake can lead to a big escalation," he warned of the attacks, describing the ceasefire between the two parties as "really fragile."

He also noted other violations, including Israel's presence in five points across the Blue Line demarcating the Israeli-Lebanese border, calling them "a flagrant" violation of UN Resolution 1701, which brought about a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

Said violations have also seen Israeli forces fire on UNIFIL peacekeepers, with the latest incident occurring when Israeli soldiers fired on peacekeepers on 16 November.

In late October, UNIFIL said an Israeli drone that flew over its positions near the town of Kfarkela dropping a bomb, with a tank fired towards peacekeepers.

The Lebanese army, tasked with dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure south of the Litani River as part of a 2024's ceasefire, has come under pressure by Israel for not disarming Hezbollah quickly enough – along with new threats of force.

However, according to Abagnara, the army is doing a good job in dismantling Hezbollah's infrastructure and has the full support of UNIFIL, with the two sides conducting between 6,000 to 9,000 joint activities per month.

While UNIFIL is supporting the Lebanese army to dismantle Hezbollah, Abagnara said it wasn't the forces' mandate to carry out disarmament itself, but rather conduct monitoring activities.

"Our task is to support the Lebanese army, not to search every private building," he said when asked about alleged Hezbollah infrastructure close to UNIFIL positions.

Abagnara's comments come as UNIFIL prepares to end its mandate in 2026, in place since 1978, and the beginning of direct Israeli-Lebanese talks aimed at opening a ceasefire monitoring mechanism.