Will US Surveillance Companies Replace UNIFIL in Southern Lebanon?

Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike on the outskirts of Hadatha town in the Bint Jbeil district. The outskirts of Mafdon and Upper Nabatieh towns were also subjected to artillery shelling.

The shelling extended to the towns of Kounine, Serbine, Beit Lif, the outskirts of Hadatha and Haris in the Bint Jbeil district, and Talousa and the outskirts of Al-Qantara towards Wadi al-Hajir in the Marjayoun district. An incursion by a military force was observed heading towards Wadi Shaba, while the Israeli army continues completing works to establish a military road towards Wadi Shaba. Israeli incursion, military movements, and continuous shelling

In the latest developments, well-informed Lebanese political sources revealed to "Erem News" that the United States proposed to Lebanon the possibility of utilizing private companies specializing in technology and intelligence surveillance to take over monitoring and verification tasks in the south of the country after the expiration of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). This step reflects a US orientation towards establishing a new oversight system based on technology and intelligence information instead of traditional international military deployment.

The sources quoted a Lebanese official familiar with the talks between Washington and Beirut, stating that the Americans did not specify names of particular companies, but expectations indicate they may be among the companies contracted with the US Departments of Defense and State.

The sources said that discussion about company names within the negotiation corridors remained limited to functional descriptions (geo-spatial audit and technological control companies) without officially revealing their commercial identity to avoid politically burning the proposal in Beirut.

They clarified that Lebanon does not see real opportunities for the success of the proposal, whether due to political and security complexities or due to the difficulty of finding an entity willing to bear the high costs of operating the proposed companies and surveillance systems.