Why is the Litani River zone so crucial?

CGTN Europe

The Litani River in Southern Lebanon, just 30km from Israel’s border, is vital for agriculture and supplies water to 20% of Lebanon's population.  It’s now central to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, lying at the edge of a UN-designated buffer zone set after Israel’s 2000 withdrawal. The UN’s UNIFIL monitors this area, but tensions persist.  #Lebanon #Israel #LitaniRiver #UN #UNIFIL #Hezbollah #MiddleEastConflict

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00:00The Litani River runs for around 170km across most of southern Lebanon, and is situated

00:07around 30km from the border with Israel. It's key for agriculture, irrigating thousands

00:13of hectares of farmland, but it's also at the heart of the current fighting between

00:18Israel and Hezbollah, lying at the northern edge of what the UN and the international

00:24community once hoped would be a buffer zone aimed at keeping a permanent ceasefire.

00:31In the year 2000, after around 20 years of occupation, Israel withdrew its forces from

00:37southern Lebanon back to the UN's designated Blue Line of Separation.

00:42So what is the UN Blue Line? One thing it's not is a border. The UN calls it a temporary

00:49line of withdrawal, monitored by its peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL. More on that later.

00:56In 2006, there was a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah. The United Nations Security

01:03Council unanimously voted for a resolution to end the conflict and pave the way to long-term

01:09security. That resolution is known as Resolution 1701. It called for a full cessation of hostilities

01:18and the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the UN Blue Line and the Litani River.

01:25Only the Lebanese army, and not Hezbollah and UNIFIL, would be able to possess weapons

01:30and military equipment in the area. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon,

01:35or UNIFIL, were first brought in in 1978, but after the 2006 hostilities, their presence

01:42increased significantly. Currently, there are around 10,000 troops from 50 different

01:48countries. Indonesia has the most, more than 1,000, while China supplies around 400 troops.

01:55The peacekeepers patrol the areas along the UN Blue Line. Any crossing of it by land or

02:01air constitutes a violation of UN Resolution 1701. But the problem is, neither Israel nor

02:08Lebanon have implemented the key terms of the resolution, and over the last year there's

02:13been almost daily cross-border exchanges. Hezbollah never left the designated demilitarized

02:20zone in southern Lebanon after 2006 and continue to maintain a strong presence. The Centre

02:26for Strategic and International Studies estimates its arsenal of rockets and missiles to be

02:32at around 130,000. Israel, meanwhile, has been accused by Lebanon of committing 35,000

02:40violations since 2006. It began a ground incursion into southern Lebanon on October 1, but that

02:47operation has expanded and the fighting with Hezbollah has increased, raising concerns

02:53about the safety of the UN peacekeepers serving there. That's something that UN Secretary

02:59General Antonio Guterres says is unacceptable. So what are both sides looking to achieve?

03:05Well, Israel is demanding Hezbollah withdraw to north of the Litani River so it can ensure

03:11the safe return of around 60,000 residents to their homes in northern Israel. Hezbollah,

03:17meanwhile, has vowed to continue striking Israel unless there's a ceasefire in Gaza.

03:23But at the moment, that ceasefire seems very far off. Any diplomatic solution is likely

03:29to involve the never fully implemented 18-year-old UN plan, yes, Resolution 1701.

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