A United Nations Security Council vote on the future of the peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon has been postponed as negotiations continue, AFP reported on Monday.
The vote on the future of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has faced opposition from the United States and Israel, was expected on Monday but is now anticipated by the end of the week. The force’s mandate is set to expire on Sunday.
The Council is debating a French-drafted compromise that would allow the 10,800-strong UNIFIL force to remain for one more year before a planned withdrawal.
The latest draft text indicates the Council would signal its intention to “work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon.”
The proposed withdrawal comes as Beirut’s army works to dismantle the infrastructure of the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah in the south. The Lebanese cabinet tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah, which has been pushing back against the efforts.
Israel, which under a truce was meant to completely withdraw from Lebanon, has maintained forces in several strategic areas and continues to conduct strikes across the country. The draft resolution contains language “condemning the incidents that affected United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon premises and forces, injuring several peacekeepers,” a reference to Israeli strikes that have damaged UNIFIL positions and injured personnel. Israel was not specifically named in the text.
A senior UN official quoted by AFP warned that “to completely eliminate (UNIFIL’s) capacity at this point, or very quickly, would not serve anybody in the region,” calling any abrupt withdrawal “risky.” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric added that “we have always felt and known that UNIFIL is a presence of stability along the blue line.”
UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel and operates near the border. One of its tasks is to implement Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
According to the resolution, Hezbollah must not be allowed to operate in southern Lebanon and the entire area of southern Lebanon must be free of any armed personnel and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon.
UNIFIL’s mandate is extended annually in August by the UN Security Council.
Israel and the US have long argued that UNIFIL has been a largely ineffective presence. The peacekeepers have repeatedly been accused of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah’s massive military build-up, and their presence has at times been seen as an impediment to Israeli security operations.
In October of 2024, the IDF revealed that approximately 25 rockets and missiles had been launched at Israeli communities and IDF troops from Hezbollah’s terrorist compounds embedded near UNIFIL posts in southern Lebanon, exploiting their proximity to UN forces. One of the attacks resulted in the deaths of two IDF soldiers.
As a result of these attacks, the IDF conducted strikes near UNIFIL posts, making sure to warn the peacekeepers beforehand and requesting that they vacate the posts. Nevertheless, UNIFIL accused Israel of deliberately targeting its peacekeepers.