The U.N. peacekeepers' armored vehicle moves slowly along the de facto border in southern Lebanon, not because of the terrain or the threat of shelling and drones, but because every mile means relearning a landscape profoundly transformed by war.
asserted
mile → move → war
UNIFIL — the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — has been monitoring this area since 1978, when it was created to verify Israel's troop withdrawal after its first occupation of Lebanon.
asserted
it → monitor → Lebanon
The U.N. expanded UNIFIL's mandate 20 years ago to include monitoring adherence to a ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah - the militant group created in 1982 to counter a second Israeli invasion.
asserted
U.N. → expand → invasion
Almost half a century later, the peacekeeping force's mandate will expire at the end of the year and due to U.S. and Israeli opposition, will not be renewed.
asserted
mandate → expire → opposition
An agreement in June between Israel and Lebanon has brought only a fragile pause to a conflict that the Lebanese government says has killed more than 4,300 people, displaced more than 1.2 million and redrawn the geography of southern Lebanon since it began in March, when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel.
asserted
Hezbollah → bring → Israel
Israel says 39 soldiers and a military contractor, plus two civilians, have been killed in Hezbollah attacks since then.
asserted
soldiers → say → attacks
Seven U.N. peacekeepers have also been killed since the war began this year, according to UNIFIL.
uncertain
war → kill → UNIFIL
The "blue line" — now marked by blue metal barriers — was the demarcation line drawn up by the U.N. for another Israeli withdrawal in 2000, after 18 years of occupation in southern Lebanon.
asserted
line → mark → Lebanon
Now marked by blue plastic barriers, it has served as a de facto border between two countries which has never formally agreed on boundaries.
asserted
which → mark → boundaries
Today, it remains on the map, but no longer fully describes the reality on the ground.
asserted
it → remain → ground
Months of bombardment have blurred the old boundaries.
asserted
Months → blur → boundaries
New lines of control and restriction have emerged, changing how people move, work and return home.
asserted
people → emerge → control
After months of restrictions, UNIFIL has reopened access to parts of its eastern sector that Israel's military presence had placed off limits.
asserted
presence → reopen → limits
"Today, for the first time in several months, we are heading into the eastern sector.
asserted
we → head → sector
It is an opportunity for us," says Sgt. Audric of the French UNIFIL battalion.
asserted
Audric → say → battalion
French military policy in Lebanon prohibits identifying soldiers by first names for security reasons.
asserted
policy → prohibit → reasons
"Since the negotiations began, we have been able to reopen this sector and finally regain our freedom of movement following the ceasefire."
asserted
we → begin → ceasefire
The reopening comes as the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah and establish a security framework for southern Lebanon, faces renewed challenges.
asserted
implementation → come → challenges
At the same time, UNIFIL, first deployed in 1978, could come to an end after nearly five decades.
uncertain
UNIFIL → deploy → decades
Its original mandate was to restore security, oversee Israel's withdrawal and help re-establish Lebanese state authority in the south.
asserted
mandate → restore → south
Israel has established what it calls a buffer zone marked by what it refers to as the yellow line, a strip of land five miles wide in some places where Israeli forces continue to occupy Lebanon.
asserted
forces → establish → Lebanon
It says the purpose of the zone is to prevent Hezbollah from firing rockets into northern Israel.
asserted
purpose → say → Israel
Israel has barred Lebanese civilians from accessing their own land along the border and has demolished civilian homes and infrastructure in many of the border towns.
asserted
Israel → bar → towns
"The yellow line does not exist for us, but we have to mark it on the map so that we can visualize it," says Lt. Col. Sebastián Dorado Santos, UNIFIL's Spanish public information officer.
asserted
Santos → exist → it
"It has disrupted normal life.
asserted
It → disrupt → life
Many civilians are unable to go to work or carry out their daily activities.
asserted
civilians → go → activities
The harvest season is approaching, but they cannot access their fields."
asserted
they → approach → fields
Roads have been reduced to rough tracks, marked by the passage of Israeli tanks.
asserted
Roads → reduce → tanks
Houses that once sheltered families have been reduced to concrete and rubble.
asserted
that → shelter → concrete
In some places, Israeli flags fly above the ruins.
asserted
flags → fly → ruins
A succession of emptied and flattened villages marks the route between the sectors: Houla, Odaisseh, Kafr Kila and the open structure of Fatima's Gate, a former crossing between Israel and Lebanon closed by Israeli forces after they withdrew in 2000.
asserted
they → empty → 2000
They separate homes from farmland, communities from workplaces and families from the places where they built their lives.
asserted
they → separate → lives
The restricted area covers approximately 6% of Lebanon's territory, reviving memories of Israel's 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000.
asserted
which → cover → 2000
Access remains largely prohibited, although just a few miles from the most heavily destroyed areas, some Christian villages remain inhabited, although isolated and with limited access to basic services.
asserted
villages → prohibit → services
Humanitarian convoys bring food, medicine and other essential supplies.
asserted
convoys → bring → food
Their presence, however, carries a symbolic weight.
asserted
presence → carry → weight
"When they see us, they know they are not alone," says Father Hani Tawk, coordinator of a network of Catholic organizations.
asserted
Tawk → see → organizations
Many residents remain caught between a border they do not control, a limited state presence and an occupation with no clear end in sight
asserted
they → catch → sight
, Tawk adds.
asserted
Tawk → add → ?
"Agriculture remains the main source of income and an essential driver of local development," says Mari's mayor, Salman Abou al-Ola.
asserted
mayor → remain → development
…and 31 more, not listed.
The Aporia
