Israel has long had a problem with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the international peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon since 1978. Complaints historically have been because the force, mandated to document violations of Resolution 1701, have been documenting myriad Israel violations from the beginning.
Israel has tried to get the UN to revoke the UNIFIL mandate for years, interspersed with overtly attacking the peacekeepers militarily, and seems set to finally get its way in December, when the mandate finally ends.
Getting their way doesn’t mean being happy about it, apparently, and the Israeli government is continuing to denounce the peacekeepers on their way out of the country. Today, the IDF claimed to have found Hezbollah arms in a civilian home near Mays al-Jabal. The claim was that the civilian home was around 200 meters from a UNIFIL post, concluding it was “further evidence that the UNIFIL force has failed in its mission.”
A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. REUTERS/Claudio Pramana
The UNIFIL has historically tried to be more diplomatic in dealing with Israeli denunciations, but on the eve of their mandate ending appear no longer to be worried about that, with a spokesperson noting today that the UNIFIL mandate never charged them with disarming Hezbollah, nor did it empower them to inspect private property.
The loss of the UNIFIL force will be felt in the region, even if they weren’t mandated to do all that much other than document the war crimes going on. Given the ongoing Israeli military occupation, losing that documentation is happening at the worst possible time for Lebanon, though potentially the ideal time for Israel.
Though Israeli lobbying has the US resisting the idea of extending the UNIFIL mandate, there are some nations keen to replace the operation with another UN-approved group. The European Union, in particular, has repeatedly suggested sending an observer force themselves. Naturally, Israel is opposed to such a possibility. In the end, it seems the EU force will only be there to notionally support the Lebanese Army’s development.
