The representative plans to meet with Tel Aviv authorities amid growing tensions in the region and repeated complaints by the UN about the Israeli Defense Forces’ aggression against the blue helmets deployed in Lebanese territory.

While Benjamin Netanyahu’s government pressed for the withdrawal of UN troops, Lacroix ratified his essential role in diplomatic efforts to find a way out of the crisis.

Speaking to reporters in Beirut, Lacroix stressed the need for full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. In his view, this internationally binding instrument “remains the framework for returning to stability.”

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) “continue to do everything possible to fulfill the tasks assigned to them, in very challenging conditions,” said the diplomat after he visited Lebanon. “In doing so, they are allowing the creation of a political and diplomatic solution to emerge.”

The representative’s visit to Lebanon included meetings with Lebanese authorities, a visit to the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, and a position in Mansouri, in the southern part of the country.

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