The new lines of southern Lebanon

Key Points:

• The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), established in 1978 to monitor Israel's troop withdrawal, is set to end its mandate by the end of the year amid U.S. and Israeli opposition, despite ongoing conflict and no durable ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
• The June ceasefire agreement has brought only a fragile pause to the conflict, which has caused over 4,300 deaths and displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon, while Israel reports casualties including soldiers and civilians from Hezbollah attacks.
• The traditional "blue line" border, drawn by the U.N. in 2000, no longer reflects the reality on the ground due to months of bombardment, new lines of control, restricted zones, and Israeli military presence in a buffer "yellow line" zone that limits Lebanese civilian access to land and disrupts daily life.
• Humanitarian conditions remain dire with restricted access to basic services, agricultural land, and medical care in southern Lebanon; UNIFIL has resumed some non-military aid, but local residents continue to face displacement, destroyed homes, and ongoing security threats.
• A new geography of conflict has emerged with "pilot zones" where Lebanese forces replace Israeli and Hezbollah fighters, yet many villages remain damaged or abandoned, underscoring that despite the ceasefire, the war's impact and instability persist in southern Lebanon.