UXO Contamination in South Lebanon: Risk Overview & Implications (December 3, 2025)

Between June and November 2025, Israeli Armed Forces (IAF) conducted sustained military operations across southern Lebanon, characterized by a distinct shift toward high-frequency aerial warfare and systematic ground clearances. According to SARI Global data, 497 kinetic individual incidents were recorded during this period attributable to Israeli forces, revealing a tactical spectrum that ranged from precision drone strikes on moving vehicles to heavy artillery saturation and controlled infrastructure demolitions in border zones.

While the immediate kinetic effects of these operations were clearly visible, the long-term impact is increasingly defined by the complex contamination footprint left across civilian, agricultural, and semiurban zones. The operational reliance on aerial munitions, constituting over 55% of all recorded activity, alongside the documented use of cluster munitions in residential areas and high rates of ordnance failure in the Bekaa Valley, has created a dense and volatile hazard landscape.

UXO contamination now presents a structurally embedded threat that restricts freedom of movement, delays recovery operations, endangers humanitarian staff, and undermines community resilience. This report outlines the patterns of contamination, assesses risk zones, and identifies the operational consequences for actors engaged in civilian protection, reconstruction, and stabilization in southern Lebanon.

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