By the beginning of 1990, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (Untso) and its Australian observers were maintaining a well-established routine. On the Golan, the usual round of observation and patrolling continued, with little change in the level of activity. Observation duties in southern Lebanon were more challenging with low-level conflict between Hezbollah and other Muslim groups and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but as the long Lebanon civil war had formally ended in 1989, fighting between the Lebanese factions was decreasing. Within Israel, the Intifada – the Palestinian uprising – was still running, but Untso had no role in trying to end or even moderate the violence. The Untso observers and their families tried to keep away from any Intifada-fuelled riots or bombings.