The future of the UN Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) is up in the air as the UN Security Council is poised to start debating the possibility to extending its mandate yet again. The mandate was last extended in 2025, supposedly for the final time, and the US and Israel sought its expiration at the end of 2026.
But now that 2026 is fast coming to a close, and with Israel invading and occupying southern Lebanon in March, the peacekeepers have more work to do than ever. Though Israel still opposes the presence of any peacekeepers or other observer forces in their occupied territory, it’s no longer clear if the US is as overwhelmingly opposed to the plan as they once were.
The prospect of the UNIFIL coming to an end was serious enough that multiple nations, including many that had contributed to the old force, were seeking to create a replacement alternative, potentially EU-centric, to fulfill a similar mission.
UNIFIL personnel patrol southern Lebanon | Image is Public Domain
Lebanese officials have made clear they would be perfectly happy with either option, for the UNIFIL mandate to be extended or for the European force to be created and deployed in their stead. Israel, by contrast, is opposed to either plan.
Notionally, Israeli officials say they want UNIFIL to be removed outright “for the good of Lebanon,” though in practice Israel has long accused the UNIFIL of being secretly in league with Hezbollah, and officials have similarly complained their presence complicates the occupation.
Some villages in Lebanon are particularly concerned at the UNIFIL departure, saying both that the peacekeepers are providing security to them and that their economies are structured at least partially around supporting the mission.
