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STORY: UN / LEBANON
TRT: 07:19
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 31 MARCH 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
31 MARCH 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Wide shot, US Ambassador Mike Waltz
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations:
“The Israel Defence Forces are in control of substantial areas immediately north of the Blue Line. The civilians suffering from the hostilities, continues to mount. UNIFIL on the ground, carrying out its mission given by this Council, has now also suffered fatalities.”
5. Med shot, Indonesian representative
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations:
“These are sadly not the only dangerous incidents faced by UNIFIL’s courageous peacekeepers. There has been a worrying increase in denials of freedom of movement and aggressive behaviour.”
7. Med shot, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations:
“Politicians in Israel now openly speak of the intention of an extended so-called security, or buffer zone, with the destruction of villages along the Blue Line and several bridges across the Litani River. In the last week only, thousands of trajectories were observed in both directions, as well as attacks by fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. The Israel Defence Forces are advancing deeper into Lebanon, and clashes have been observed, including a very close proximity to UNIFIL headquarters in the Naqoura, which has been the subject of multiple impacts.”
9. Wide shot, Council
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia
and the Pacific, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“While the Lebanese government has taken commendable steps to address non-state arms, two things are true at once the government needs time and space - not under fire - to implement its decisions, and more assertive actions extending beyond the military run are needed to bring a state monopoly on arms into being. But Hezbollah not only blatantly rejects the decisions by the Lebanese government, but also actively defies them.”
11. Wide shot, Council
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia
and the Pacific, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“There is no military solution, only diplomacy, dialogue and the full implementation of the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions can lead to a sustainable peace for all. This is the pathway to spare communities on both sides of the Blue Line more needless suffering.”
13. Wide shot, Council, Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher on screen
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency
Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in harm's way, especially with military advances flattening entire villages. Meanwhile, rockets continue to be fired indiscriminately by Hezbollah over the Blue Line into northern Israel, causing harm and fear among civilians there. In Lebanon, more than 1.1 million people have been displaced over the past four weeks, including more than 370,000 children.”
11. Med shot, Lebanese Ambassador Ahmad Arafa and Khiari
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency
Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“Even before this latest violence, tens of thousands remain displaced and entire communities were surviving with only partial access to health care, water, electricity, education. The current escalation is compounding a situation that is already critical. 51 primary health care centres and four hospitals are currently closed due to hostilities, with others damaged or operating at reduced capacity. Schools and public universities are being used as shelters, leaving thousands of children without access to learning.”
13. Wide shot, Arafa addressing Council
14. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Arafa, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lebanon:
“The attacks on peacekeepers are attacks on this Council itself. They undermine its reputation and credibility before the peoples of the world. These barbaric and irresponsible acts must stop regardless of who is responsible. It is the legal and moral responsibility of this Council to identify and hold accountable those responsible.”
15. Wide shot, Council
16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Arafa, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lebanon:
“Who among us does not recall Israel's deliberate targeting of l and its threats and demanding that UNIFIL leaves its area of operations in 2024? Today we meet following the killing of three soldiers from the Indonesian battalion and the injury of others, one of whom is of Polish nationality, knowing that this was preceded by attacks on the Ghanaian and Nepalese battalions.”
17. Wide shot, Arafa addressing Council
18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Arafa, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lebanon:
“We recall here the letter we sent you yesterday regarding the statements by the Israeli Ministers of Defence and Finance announcing the Israeli Army's intention to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, and to consider the river as Israel's new border. We call upon this Council to act immediately and to condemn these statements clearly and explicitly, and to take the necessary measures to compel Israel to halt its incursions and threats to Lebanon's territorial integrity and political independence, to withdraw its forces to internationally recognised borders, and to comply with the UN charter and relevant international resolutions, including the resolution 1701 and the cessation of hostilities.”
19. Wide shot, Arafa addressing Council
20. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Arafa, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lebanon:
“We call on Iran, which repeatedly calls before this esteemed Council to respect the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs. We call on Iran to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and sovereign decisions, and to cease interfering in its internal affairs.”
21. Wide shot, Council
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Danny Danon, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Israel:
“The gap between words and reality is a problem. Lebanon has not taken sufficient action to address Hezbollah's military presence. Lebanon needs to take will action. Until that happens, no one is safe. No one. Not in northern Israel, not in Lebanon, not in UNIFIL bases.”
23. Wide shot, end of Council session
24. Pan left, Danon walks up to stakeout podium
25. SOUNDBITE (English) Danny Danon, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Israel:
“We can confirm now that UNIFIL forces were hit by Hezbollah explosive devices in an incident near Bani Hayyan in southern Lebanon. The situation is complex. It is changing quickly and it's dangerous. But one thing is clear. This did not happen in a vacuum. Israel did not choose this conflict. Hezbollah did.”
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
26. Close up, reporter’s notepad
31 MARCH 2026, NEW YORK CITY
27. SOUNDBITE (English) Danny Danon, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Israel:
“This is how Hezbollah operates from civilian areas and next to UN positions, putting peacekeepers directly in the line of fire. Israel is coordinating with UNIFIL to reduce risk. Meanwhile, Hezbollah is exploiting their presence.”
28. Pan right, Danon walks away
Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, today (31 Mar) told the Security Council that Israeli forces “are in control of substantial areas immediately north of the Blue Line,” and expressed concern that politicians in Israel “now openly speak of the intention of an extended so-called security, or buffer zone, with the destruction of villages along the Blue Line and several bridges across the Litani River.”
Lacroix said, “civilians suffering from the hostilities, continues to mount, while the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), “has now also suffered fatalities.”
He said, “these are sadly not the only dangerous incidents faced by UNIFIL’s courageous peacekeepers” as there has been “a worrying increase in denials of freedom of movement and aggressive behaviour.”
In the last week only, Lacroix noted, “thousands of trajectories were observed in both directions, as well as attacks by fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.”
He said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) “are advancing deeper into Lebanon, and clashes have been observed, including a very close proximity to UNIFIL headquarters in the Naqoura, which has been the subject of multiple impacts.”
Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Khaled Khiari, for his part said, “while the Lebanese government has taken commendable steps to address non-state arms, two things are true at once the government needs time and space - not under fire - to implement its decisions, and more assertive actions extending beyond the military run are needed to bring a state monopoly on arms into being.”
Khiari said, “Hezbollah not only blatantly rejects the decisions by the Lebanese government, but also actively defies them.”
He said, “there is no military solution, only diplomacy, dialogue and the full implementation of the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions can lead to a sustainable peace for all. This is the pathway to spare communities on both sides of the Blue Line more needless suffering.”
Briefing via video teleconference, humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher told the Council that “hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in harm's way, especially with military advances flattening entire village,” while “rockets continue to be fired indiscriminately by Hezbollah over the Blue Line into northern Israel, causing harm and fear among civilians there.”
In Lebanon, Fletcher said, “more than 1.1 million people have been displaced over the past four weeks, including more than 370,000 children.”
Even before this latest violence, he noted, “tens of thousands remain displaced and entire communities were surviving with only partial access to health care, water, electricity, education,” and added that “the current escalation is compounding a situation that is already critical.”
Lebanese Ambassador Ahmad Arafa told the Council that “attacks on peacekeepers are attacks on this Council itself,” and “undermine its reputation and credibility before the peoples of the world.”
Arafa said, “these barbaric and irresponsible acts must stop regardless of who is responsible. It is the legal and moral responsibility of this Council to identify and hold accountable those responsible.”
The Lebanese Ambassador asked, “who among us does not recall Israel's deliberate targeting of l and its threats and demanding that UNIFIL leaves its area of operations in 2024?” and said, “today we meet following the killing of three soldiers from the Indonesian battalion and the injury of others, one of whom is of Polish nationality, knowing that this was preceded by attacks on the Ghanaian and Nepalese battalions.”
He recalled a letter sent to the Council regarding statements by the Israeli Ministers of Defence and Finance “announcing the Israeli Army's intention to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, and to consider the river as Israel's new border.”
Arafa called upon the Council “to act immediately and to condemn these statements clearly and explicitly, and to take the necessary measures to compel Israel to halt its incursions and threats to Lebanon's territorial integrity and political independence, to withdraw its forces to internationally recognised borders, and to comply with the UN charter and relevant international resolutions, including the resolution 1701 and the cessation of hostilities.”
He also called on Iran, “to respect the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs” and “to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and sovereign decisions, and to cease interfering in its internal affairs.”
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said “the gap between words and reality is a problem. Lebanon has not taken sufficient action to address Hezbollah's military presence. Lebanon needs to take will action. Until that happens, no one is safe. No one. Not in northern Israel, not in Lebanon, not in UNIFIL bases.”
Outside the Council, talking to reporters, Danon confirmed that “UNIFIL forces were hit by Hezbollah explosive devices in an incident near Bani Hayyan in southern Lebanon.”
He said, “the situation is complex. It is changing quickly and it's dangerous. But one thing is clear. This did not happen in a vacuum. Israel did not choose this conflict. Hezbollah did.”
Danon said, “this is how Hezbollah operates from civilian areas and next to UN positions, putting peacekeepers directly in the line of fire. Israel is coordinating with UNIFIL to reduce risk. Meanwhile, Hezbollah is exploiting their presence.”
