Israel accuses Unifil of having turned a blind eye to Hezbollah’s extensive regrouping and rearming, as the Iranian-backed Shia organisation grew into a formidable fighting force – even bigger than the official Lebanese army. Hezbollah is now proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK, US and other countries.

Israeli airstrikes have hit the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force and other positions in south Lebanon in recent days, drawing widespread condemnation from around the world.