End of UNIFIL: Lebanon Left to Face Hezbollah Alone
UN Security Council prepares to vote on ending UNIFIL's mission in Lebanon by 2026, leaving the Lebanese government to manage security amid ongoing tensions with Hezbollah.
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The United Nations Security Council is preparing to vote this Thursday on a resolution that could formally wind down the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) after nearly five decades on the ground. The draft measure envisions a complete end to UNIFIL operations by December 31, 2026, followed by a one-year phased withdrawal of international personnel.
Under the plan, the Lebanese government would assume sole responsibility for security in the country’s volatile south, an area long at the center of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah. The drawdown would be conducted in coordination with troop-contributing states, with the UN secretary-general tasked to brief the council on progress throughout the process.
For Israel and the United States, the vote marks the culmination of years of frustration. Both governments have argued that UNIFIL, whose mandate was expanded after the 2006 Second Lebanon War, has failed to prevent Hezbollah from entrenching itself along the border.
“Reality has shown that UNIFIL has not stopped Hezbollah’s buildup or its infiltration attempts. The responsibility must now shift fully to the Lebanese government,” Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said ahead of the vote.
The debate comes just days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu floated the possibility of a gradual Israeli troop pullback from Lebanese territory, paired with a reduction in airstrikes, if Hezbollah complies with government orders to disarm.
The move could reshape security dynamics across the region. For some diplomats, ending UNIFIL is a long-overdue recognition of ground realities. For others, it raises fears of a dangerous vacuum at a time when Hezbollah’s power remains deeply entrenched in Lebanon’s south.