The UN welcomed new reports of a ceasefire in Lebanon as human rights experts pressed for Iranian accountability

UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at a midday briefing in New York that the UN was “aware of reports indicating that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire” and welcomed the development while renewing a call on all parties “to cease hostilities, respect existing ceasefire arrangements and pursue dialogue as the only path to long-term security and stability.”

Ongoing fighting between Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah has tested the interim agreement signed by Washington and Tehran this week, which includes demands for a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon.

Israel has indicated that it is not bound by the agreement, and neither Israel nor Hezbollah have publicly confirmed a renewed ceasefire commitment, according to reports. Diplomats reported that talks to advance a temporary deal between the US and Iran in Switzerland had been postponed due to Israel’s attack on Lebanon on Friday.

UN peacekeeping mission ‘continuously in touch’

UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFILE) emphasized that its leadership continues to be in contact with the parties through agreed mechanisms, although the figures underline how conditions are still far from calm.

On Thursday, peacekeepers detected 52 Israeli airspace violations and 217 projectile trajectories: 188 were linked to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and 29 were linked to Lebanese non-state actors, “probably Hezbollah”.

From midnight to 4pm local time on Friday, the picture deteriorated sharply. UNIFIL recorded 748 passes – 695 caused by Israeli forces and 53 caused by non-state actors – as well as 49 airspace violations and 51 airstrikes by Israeli forces as well as continued Israeli ground activity, including armored movements and logistics operations.

Help improved

On the humanitarian side, UNIFIL has increased deliveries of food and essential aid this week to displaced families in Beirut and the surrounding area.

In the coastal city of Saida, French and British development ministers joined UN resident and humanitarian coordinator Imran Riza for a joint visit to a collective shelter, where Site managers report that many families who left after the appointment have recently returned.

At one shelter, nearly half of those who left earlier in the week had returned by Friday morning.

But Mr. Dujarric warned that “for many refugee families, the ceasefire announcement has not meant improved safety or the ability to return home.”

Human rights experts in Iran voiced concern

Separately, the UN’s independent human rights expert on Friday welcome signed a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding between Washington and Tehran, but warned that any agreement that failed to address human rights abuses in Iran was “fundamentally incomplete.”

Experts note that the initial deal, which includes a military withdrawal, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, a commitment to nuclear weapons development, sanctions relief and a $300 billion reconstruction fund, leaving the Iranian people “almost invisible in this framework”, even though thousands of civilians were killed in airstrikes on schools, hospitals and residential areas, and millions became internally displaced.

Since the war began in late February, the Iranian government has acted aggressively against dissent.

Thousands of people have been detained, many of whom were reportedly tortured, forcibly disappeared, or subjected to mock executions. At least 156 people have been executed since the war beganincluding 42 people on espionage and national security charges, and many of them following a process in which confessions were reportedly obtained through torture and legal counsel was denied, independent experts detailed.

Experts appointed by Human Rights Council and receive no pay for their work, calling for accountability to be placed at the center of a long-term solution.