Danon accuses UN of violating mandate in drone shootdown

"The U.N. has violated its mandate—UNIFIL's time is up,” Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told JNS.

Andrew Bernard

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, addresses the Security Council on June 4, 2025. Credit: Evan Schneider/U.N. photo.

(Oct. 30, 2025 / JNS)  Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, accused the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon of violating its mission on Thursday after it shot down an Israeli drone.

Danon told JNS exclusively that a letter sent on Monday from Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the U.N. under-secretary-general for peace operations, about the UNIFIL shootdown of the drone was “an admission of violating the mandate given to it by the Security Council, and is a violation of Resolution 1701.”

El arsenal de Hezbollah está bajo escrutinio internacional, pero esto no es suficiente

Thomas Joseph Barrack Jr. Foto: Departamento de Estado de EE. UU. Dominio Público vía Wikimedia Commons

La presión internacional sobre el vasto arsenal de Hezbollah aumenta, con la diplomacia estadounidense en el centro del escenario.

El enviado estadounidense, Thomas Barrack, cuyos abuelos libaneses cristianos emigraron a Estados Unidos desde el Líbano, ha presentado una “hoja de ruta” de seis páginas para la seguridad del país del cedro.

Este plan describe tres fases clave: el desarme voluntario de los depósitos de armas en zonas civiles y su entrega al Ejército libanés, la regularización del control gubernamental en la frontera siria y una legislación que prohíbe la posesión de armas por parte de actores no estatales.

Spanish PM urges EU to suspend free-trade agreement with Israel

The politician also criticized Netanyahu's calls to remove UNIFIL soldiers from combat zones in Southern Lebanon.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez looks on after delivering a speech to announce that the country will recognize Palestine as a state on May 28, at the Congress of Deputies in Madrid on May 22, 2024. Photo by Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images.

(Oct. 14, 2024 / JNS)  Spain’s prime minister on Monday urged the European Union to suspend the bloc’s free trade agreement with Israel over its military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.

Pedro Sanchez requested a response from member states to the requests from Madrid and Dublin to halt the EU-Israel Association Agreement, claiming that Jerusalem’s actions during the

US to send troops to Israel to protect against Iranian attack

Announcement comes on the day a Hezbollah drone strike on a military base in Israel kills four soldiers and injures nearly 60.

By Ben Sales (JTA)

Four IDF soldiers killed in a Hezbollah drone attack on a Golani base on 13 October, clockwise from top left: Sgt Alon Amitay, Sgt Omri Tamari, Sgt Yosef Hieb and Sgt Yoav Agmon

American troops will be stationed in Israel for the first time since 7 October 2023, as the country prepares for ongoing conflict with Iran.

The announcement that US personnel would arrive came on the same day that a Hezbollah drone strike on a military base in Israel killed four soldiers and injured nearly 60.

ONU: Embajador de Israel pide al Consejo de Seguridad que condene a Hezbollah

El embajador de Israel ante la ONU, Danny Danon, publicó el lunes una carta en la que pide al Consejo de Seguridad de la organización que condene a la organización terrorista libanesa Hezbollah después del ataque masivo con cohetes y aviones no tripulados contra Israel de ayer.

La carta, fechada el domingo, al secretario general de la ONU, Antonio Guterres, culpó al Líbano y a Hezbollah por las crecientes tensiones a lo largo de la frontera norte de Israel, que han provocado que 60.000 israelíes huyeran de sus hogares. También señaló a Irán por guiar a la organización terrorista libanesa.

El ataque del domingo se produjo después de que las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel lanzaran un ataque preventivo contra lanzadores que apuntaban al centro y norte de Israel. A pesar de ello, cientos de cohetes y más de una docena de drones fueron disparados contra Israel.

España estudia el envío de una unidad de helicópteros del Ejército al Líbano

El Ministerio de Defensa aspira a que un general español lidere la misión de la ONU, de más de 10.000 efectivos, y para ello tendría que reforzar sus capacidades sobre el terreno.

GONZALO ARALUCE

Militares españoles patrullan en el Líbano, en cumplimiento de la misión de la ONU

España quiere dar un golpe sobre la mesa en UNIFIL, la misión de las Naciones Unidas en el Líbano. El Ministerio de Defensa contempla la posibilidad de que un general español lidere en el 2022 el contingente internacional que vigila el debido cumplimiento de las siempre polémicas fronteras entre Israel y el Líbano. Un mandato que requeriría el refuerzo de sus capacidades sobre el terreno -los últimos datos ofrecidos por Defensa cifran la presencia española en el país en 830 efectivos- con el envío de helicópteros del Ejército de Tierra. En la cúpula militar ya se contempla esa opción como una posibilidad real.

Lebanon’s new PM vows to take back land it sees as occupied by Israel

Najib Mikati says ‘Lebanese citizens have the right to oppose Israel’s occupation, and to respond to its attacks’; he also demands UNIFIL end Israel’s ‘invasions’.

By TOI STAFF and AP

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a parliament session to confirm Lebanon's new government at a Beirut theater known as the UNESCO palace, so that parliament members could observe social distancing measures imposed over the coronavirus pandemic, on September 20, 2021. (AP/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanon’s new Prime Minister Najib Mikati vowed on Monday to reclaim territories it sees as occupied by Israel, while warning that the country has the right to respond to any aggression.

Can France Bring Stability to Crisis-Plagued Lebanon?

Emmanuel Macron, image via Wikipedia

BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,746, September 14, 2020

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: France’s longstanding diplomatic involvement in Lebanon was intended to promote Lebanese stability, sovereignty, and democracy, but it has failed to achieve any of those goals. As long as Paris continues to consider Hezbollah integral to Lebanon’s democratic life and denies that it is a terrorist organization controlling Lebanon with a private army, its ability to stabilize Lebanon will remain slim to nil.

French president Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon on September 1, 2020 ostensibly to mark the centennial of the country’s independence, but also as a

Headed for UN Security Council vote, will UNIFIL’s ineffective mandate change or end?

Growing claims that it has always been biased against Israel are prompting the re-evaluation of its effectiveness and even use.

BY ISRAEL KASNETT

UNIFIL’s Spanish peacekeepers leaving U.N. Post 7-2 for an evening patrol in the vicinity of Blatt in southern Lebanon, Oct. 1 2019. Credit: Pasqual Gorriz/U.N.

(August 18, 2020 / JNS) Hezbollah terrorists crossed into Israeli territory on July 16, 2006, when they ambushed an Israel Defense Forces’ patrol, killing three soldiers. They then kidnapped two Israeli soldiers before fleeing back into Lebanon. UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) was nowhere to be seen. Now, 14 years later, and after numerous other incidents when UNIFIL failed to act even as Hezbollah operated under its very nose, a strong and growing sentiment in Israel and abroad insists that UNIFIL must either change or completely lose its mandate.

A U.N. Security Council vote on extending UNIFIL’s mandate scheduled is for Aug. 31. According to a number of experts, UNIFIL will remain impotent unless it is given

Erdan presents evidence to UN Security Council on Hezbollah infiltration

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan provided an intelligence photo showing terrorist cell’s route from Lebanon to the Mount Dov area in Israel.

An Israeli intelligence photo showing a Hezbollah infiltration attempt on July 27, 2020. Credit: Courtesy.

(August 17, 2020 / JNS) Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan presented evidence to the U.N Security Council that Hezbollah terrorists infiltrated Israel in late July.

In an official letter of complaint to the members of the council, Erdan provided an intelligence photo that shows evidence of

Ahead of UNIFIL renewal, Israel escorts international delegation to Lebanon border

The tour, which included a visit to a Hezbollah attack tunnel, was part of an effort to stress the need for the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon to “fulfill its duty without restrictions.” 

A Hezbollah tunnel running under the Lebanon-Israel border, July 7, 2019. Photo by Sraya Diamant/Flash90.

(July 12, 2020 / JNS) The Israeli Foreign Ministry and Israel Defense Forces on Friday escorted a delegation of 12 ambassadors, U.N. Security Council members and representatives from countries contributing to the U.N. Interim

What is the Blue Line?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2w_D0VzqD4&feature=share

Why Israel Opposes International Forces in the Jordan Valley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06F4zWz6k5I&feature=youtu.be

ONU confirma que un tercer túnel de Hezbollah penetra en Israel violando el cese del fuego

Foto: Portavoz militar

La Fuerza Provisional de las Naciones Unidas para el Líbano (FPNUL) -también conocida como UNIFIL, por sus siglas en inglés- confirmó que un túnel descubierto a principio de este año por Israel, cruza la frontera desde el Líbano y penetra en el territorio israelí.

Las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel dijeron, en enero, que el túnel cavado desde la localidad libanesa de Ramyeh, apenas a 800 metros de la frontera, penetraba decenas de metros en el territorio israelí, y tenía 55 metros de profundidad.

IDF finds fourth Hezbollah attack tunnel dug into Israel from Lebanon

Army says passage has been boobytrapped to ensure it can’t be used by terror group, informs local authorities of its location but refuses to publicly specify.

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, center, visits soldiers searching for Hezbollah attack tunnels on Israeli-Lebanese border on December 4, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli military uncovered over the weekend a fourth cross-border attack tunnel that it says the Hezbollah terror group dug into Israel from southern Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces refused to specify where the tunnel was found, but said the “relevant local governments” were notified of its location. “The tunnel is under IDF control and does not present a threat,” the army said in a statement.

La Unión Europea apoya la operación de Israel contra los túneles de Hezbollah

Foto: Portavoz militar

La Unión Europea manifestó su apoyo a la “Operación Escudo del Norte” para destruir los túneles del grupo terrorista chií libanés Hezbollah.

El embajador Emanuele Giaufret expresó que “Israel tiene el derecho de garantizar la seguridad de sus ciudadanos y su territorio”. El diplomático agregó que las la Fuerza Interina de las Naciones Unidas para el Líbano (FINUL o UNIFIL, en inglés) “tiene un rol clave para asegurar la estabilidad” y precisa “apoyo total para cumplir su mandato de mantener la estabilidad y prevenir una escalada”.

As 30-foot-tall border wall goes up, IDF says Hezbollah, Lebanese army colluding

Senior officer predicts war in the north unlikely in near future, but sees serious threat in terror group’s border infiltration units.

An Israeli construction vehicle drives by a concrete wall being built along the 'Blue Line' separating Israel and Lebanon, as members of the Lebanese Armed Forces watch from a guard tower, near the Israeli town of Rosh Hanikra on September 5, 2018. (Judah Ari Gross/Times of Israel)

ROSH HANIKRA — The Israeli military this week publicly unveiled its 11-kilometer-long, nine-meter-tall concrete border wall along the Lebanese border — a barrier that is hotly contested by Lebanon, but that Israel maintains is lawful and fully in accordance with the international armistice line.