UN chief urges end to Israel 'occupation', operations in south Lebanon

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Friday urged an end to Israel's "continued occupation" and "military operations" in south Lebanon, after a November ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.

"The continued occupation by the Israel (military) inside the UNIFIL area operations and the conduct of military operations in Lebanese territory are violations of resolution 1701... They must stop," he told members of the U.N. peacekeeping force as he visited them, referring to the U.N. Security Council decision that ended a 2006 war between both sides.

Guterres said Friday peacekeepers discovered more than "100 weapons caches" belonging to Hezbollah and its allies in south Lebanon since the ceasefire.

U.N. peacekeepers "uncovered over 100 weapons caches belonging to Hezbollah or other armed groups since 27 November," he said, adding that the "presence of armed personnel, assets and weapons" other than those of the Lebanese army and the UNIFIL peacekeeping force violated resolution 1701 that ended a 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Guterres arrived in Lebanon Thursday on a "visit of solidarity", he said, after a long-stalled presidential election and a devastating war between armed group Hezbollah and Israel.

"I have arrived in Beirut on a visit of solidarity with the Lebanese people," Guterres posted on X.

"A window has opened for a new era of institutional stability with a state fully able to protect its citizens and a system that would allow the tremendous potential of the Lebanese people to flourish," he added.

"We will do everything to help keep that window open wide."

His deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Guterres would meet political officials and visit U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon during his trip which would last until Saturday.

Lebanon's deeply divided political class last week finally elected a new president, Joseph Aoun, after two years of deadlock.

Aoun on Monday named Nawaf Salam, until recently the presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, to form a government.

Since Wednesday Salam has been consulting political parties ahead of drawing up a list of cabinet members.

Guterres is visiting the country as the deadline approaches for full implementation of a November 27 ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in southern Lebanon.

Under the truce, which ended two months of all-out war between both sides, the Lebanese army is to deploy alongside U.N. peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdraws before January 26.

Hezbollah is due to pull its forces north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers from the border with Israel, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in south Lebanon.