Lebanon's parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and  United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Beirut on Saturday —AFP

Agencies BEIRUT

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that UN peacekeepers have discovered more than “100 weapons caches” belonging to Hezbollah and its allies in south Lebanon since the November 27 ceasefire between Israel and the terror group. Guterres, who spoke on a visit to the UN Interim Force  in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in southern Lebanon’s Naqura, near the Israeli border, said Israel’s operations inside Lebanon “must stop”.

Guterres reiterated that under the November 27 agreement, Lebanese government forces and UNIFIL peacekeepers are the only parties entitled to bear arms in Lebanon south of the Litani River, some 30 km from the border with Israel. In an apparent reference to Israel and Hezbollah, Guterres said, “The continued occupation by the Israel [military] inside the UNIFIL area operations and the conduct of military operations in Lebanese territory are violations of Resolution 1701.” 

Guterres who also met with French President Emmanual Macron in Beirut on Friday. Israel has said its operations in south Lebanon were in response to Hezbollah’s violations of the ceasefire, and accused UNIFIL and the Lebanese military of failing to enforce both Resolution 1701 and the November 27 agreement. Under the agreement, the IDF is required to cede all of its positions in southern Lebanon to Lebanese and UNIFIL forces within 60 days, by January 26.

At the same time, Hezbollah is required to retreat north of the Litani. The agreement, which ended almost 14 months of war, allows Israel to act against imminent threats by Hezbollah, while less imminent threats are to be referred to a five-member committee comprising representatives of the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL.