UN Security Council renews Lebanon mission for one final year Before ultimate shutdown

The United Nations Security Council has voted to extend the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon until the end of 2026, with plans for an “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal” over the following year.

The unanimous vote on August 28 came just days before the mandate for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was set to expire this weekend, CNN reported. The decision came amid growing pressure from the United States and its close ally Israel to end the mission.

According to their article, UNIFIL was originally established to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon following the 1978 war, and its mandate has been renewed annually ever since.

The multinational peacekeeping force has played a key role in monitoring security in southern Lebanon for decades, including during last year’s Israel-Hezbollah war, but it has faced criticism from both sides as well as from numerous US lawmakers, some of whom, according to CNN, now hold influential positions in President Donald Trump’s administration or wield new clout within the Republican White House.

As the UN resolution stipulates, UNIFIL will continue operations until December 2026, after which it will begin withdrawing its 10,800 military and civilian personnel and equipment over the course of a year, in consultation with the Lebanese government.

The agreement also seeks to establish the Lebanese government as “the sole provider of security” in southern Lebanon north of the UN-drawn border with Israel, known as the Blue Line, while urging Israel to withdraw its forces.

Additionally, it calls on the international community “to intensify its support, including equipment, material and finance” for the Lebanese armed forces.

American patience running out with UNIFIL

The administration of US President Donald Trump has advocated ending UNIFIL since taking office in January and has already reduced US funding to the force. Some members of his cabinet view the operation as a costly effort that delays the goal of removing Hezbollah’s influence and restoring full security control to the Lebanese armed forces, although Beirut maintains its forces are not yet ready to assume complete control.

Speaking after the vote, acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea made clear that Washington would not support any future extension of the mission.

“This will be the last time the United States will support an extension of UNIFIL,” she said.

Israel has long criticized UNIFIL for failing to prevent threats from Hezbollah and has increasingly pushed for the mission’s termination, especially following the cross-border clashes after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the outbreak of war in Gaza.

By Nazrin Sadigova