The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to end its peaceful forces in South Lebanon at the end of 2026 and after permanent pressure from the United States and Israel ended almost five decades of operations.
The Provisional Force in Lebanon (Unifil) was founded in 1978 to supervise Israeli withdrawal after his invasion of South Lebanon and was extended after the 2006 War between Israel and Hezbollah. Currently, it consists of about 10,800 military and civilian staff, the mission has long played a key role in monitoring tensions along the Israeli-Lebanon border known as the blue line.
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According to the resolution, the Uniform mandate expires in December 2026. The withdrawal of soldiers, equipment and staff must start immediately in coordination with the Lebanese government and completed within one year. The plan assumes that the Lebanese armed forces (LAF) will become the “only security provider” in the south and at the same time call for Israel to pull their units from the north of the blue line.
Criticism and American pushback
The mission faced criticism from both sides of the conflict, as well as from US lawmakers who claimed that Unifile could not limit the presence of Hezbollah in the region. Trump administration officials, long skeptical about this operation, reduced us financing and sought to close it, marked it ineffective and expensive.
European concern
However, European members of the Council, including France and Italy, opposed a sudden departure. They warned that uniform uniform disposal could leave a dangerous safety vacuum that Hezbollah could use, especially because the Lebanese army remains insufficiently equipped to ensure the border area separately.
During the time of the time of drawing, UNIFIL retains limited power to protect the UN staff, ensure the safety of its installations, help in humanitarian efforts and ensure situational awareness in South Lebanon.
The resolution also urges international donors to increase the financial and material support of the Lebanese armed forces to allow smooth transition.
(Tagstotranslate) UN Security Council
