Lebanon’s president has asked the foreign minister to file a formal complaint alleging that Israel built a wall inside Lebanese territory, citing a UNIFIL finding. UNIFIL says the barrier southwest of Yaroun crosses the demarcation line and makes more than 4,000 sq m (about 43,000 sq ft) inaccessible, and has asked Israel to remove it. Israel says construction began in 2022 as part of border reinforcements and maintains the wall does not cross the U.N.-drawn Blue Line. The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of the wider Israel–Hezbollah conflict that intensified after October 2023.
Lebanon to Lodge Formal Complaint After UNIFIL Says Israeli Wall Encroaches on Lebanese Land
Lebanon’s president has asked the foreign minister to file a formal complaint alleging that Israel built a wall inside Lebanese territory, citing a UNIFIL finding. UNIFIL says the barrier southwest of Yaroun crosses the demarcation line and makes more than 4,000 sq m (about 43,000 sq ft) inaccessible, and has asked Israel to remove it. Israel says construction began in 2022 as part of border reinforcements and maintains the wall does not cross the U.N.-drawn Blue Line. The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of the wider Israel–Hezbollah conflict that intensified after October 2023.
03:27 AM, 11/16/2025Conflict
Lebanon Moves to File Complaint Over Israeli Border Wall
Lebanon’s president has instructed the country’s foreign minister to prepare a formal complaint accusing Israel of constructing a wall inside Lebanese territory, according to a statement from the president’s office.
The statement said the complaint should incorporate the findings of the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed along the Israel-Lebanon border, known as UNIFIL. On Friday, UNIFIL reported that the Israeli army had erected a barrier southwest of the Lebanese village of Yaroun.
UNIFIL: The wall crosses the demarcation line and renders more than 4,000 square meters (about 43,000 square feet) of Lebanese territory "inaccessible to the Lebanese people." UNIFIL said it informed the Israeli army of its observations and requested that the structure be removed.
UNIFIL said the construction violates the U.N. Security Council resolution that helped end the 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah with a U.S.-brokered cease-fire reached in November of last year, and that the barrier infringes on "Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The Israeli military responded that construction of the barrier began in 2022 and is part of a broader plan to reinforce positions along the northern border. Israeli forces said the measures — including strengthening the physical barrier — were implemented amid the security developments since the outbreak of hostilities.
Israel also emphasized that, in its view, the wall does not cross the Blue Line, the U.N.-drawn boundary between Lebanon and Israel that UNIFIL monitors.
Context
The wider conflict escalated after Hezbollah fired rockets across the border on Oct. 8, 2023 — a day after a deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel that ignited the Gaza war. Israel retaliated with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon, and the confrontation intensified into a broader war by late September 2024.
What happens next: Lebanon’s foreign ministry is expected to file the complaint using UNIFIL’s statement as supporting evidence. The complaint could prompt diplomatic exchanges at the U.N. and among international stakeholders monitoring the fragile cease-fire and border arrangements.