UN Security Council renews UNIFIL mission, for the final time

WASHINGTON and BEIRUT — A new clock is ticking on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) after the United Nations Security Council voted to renew its controversial mission today, but only for the next 16 months.

The resolution, approved unanimously Wednesday night, mandates UNIFIL end its mission on Dec. 31, 2026, at which point the international peacekeeping force will have one year to leave Lebanon’s southern border, according to the UN Security Council.

It was a move pushed by the US and welcomed by longtime UNIFIL critic Israel.

“Over the years, UNIFIL has completely failed to prevent Hezbollah’s ongoing military build-up within its area of operations. Likewise, UNIFIL’s reports to the Security Council did not reflect the reality on the ground and the extent of Hezbollah’s build-up, and created a false appearance of stability,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said today in a post on X. “Therefore, the Security Council’s decision to carry out an orderly and gradual withdrawal of the force is the correct decision, which will contribute to regional stability.”

Likewise, the vote comes just days after US Envoy Tom Barrack said at the Lebanese presidential palace that the US would support a renewal for one year, but that UNIFIL was not the “answer” to Lebanon’s security problems.

“A billion dollars [spent on UNIFIL] a year, 22 years of advocacy and you’re in a swamp,” Barrack said. “They haven’t fired a bullet; they haven’t fired a shot. You’re in a worse dilemma than you’ve ever been with Israel and Hezbollah, and you want us to weigh in more with LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces]. LAF is the answer. Your answer is LAF. Your answer is not UNIFIL.”

Meanwhile, France’s UN representatives warned that any “premature withdrawal could undermine or even weaken the efforts of the Lebanese Government” in the south, according to the UN News service.

UNIFIL’s mission to maintain peace in the south of Lebanon was first established in 1978 according to Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426. In July 2006, Resolution 1701 passed, ending the one-month war with Israel and greatly increasing the number of UNIFIL troops in Lebanon deployed along the border to a maximum of 15,000 to monitor the cessation of hostilities in the south, as well as to accompany, support and assist the Lebanese Armed Forces. Last year during the conflict with Israel, the number of UNIFIL personnel in South Lebanon was 10,000, according to a spokesperson at the time.

This year’s vote has garnered more attention than normal as it was the first renewal vote since the Nov. 27, 2024 US-mediated ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel began, ending a year and one month of hostilities between Israeli forces and Lebanese Hezbollah that began shortly after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The UNIFIL mission was last renewed for one year in August 2024, with an expiration date of Aug. 31, 2025. 

Experts who spoke to Breaking Defense earlier this week expected the UN to continue the mission despite this year’s unique conditions, though RANE Global Security Analyst for the Middle East and North Africa Freddy Khoueiry did say it could be the last renewal. 

“Israel, backed by the United States, argues that UNIFIL has outlived its usefulness,” he told Breaking Defense. “From Israel’s perspective, the mission failed to prevent Hezbollah’s entrenchment in southern Lebanon in the years leading up to the 2024 war, and with Hezbollah now weakened, it sees little justification for keeping the force in place.”