The United Nations Security Council postponed a vote scheduled for Monday on the future of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon, which faced US and Israeli opposition.
The Council is debating a French-drafted compromise that would keep the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in place for one more year while it prepares to withdraw. UNIFIL was deployed in 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon.
Talks over UNIFIL began last week, and it had been thought a vote could come as soon as Monday, but diplomatic sources indicated that a vote would now come by the end of the week. The force’s mandate ends on Sunday.
The multinational force’s mandate was expanded following the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict. It has played a significant role in monitoring the security situation in southern Lebanon for decades, including during the Israel-Hezbollah war last year. But it has drawn criticism from both sides.
Trump administration political appointees entered office this year aiming to shut down UNIFIL as soon as possible. They regard the operation as an ineffectual waste of money that is merely delaying the goal of eliminating Iran-backed Hezbollah’s influence and restoring full security control to the Lebanese Armed Forces. Hezbollah effectively controlled southern Lebanon before last year’s war.
In the latest draft text of the UNSC resolution seen by AFP, 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.”
A French UN peacekeeper takes position as he enters a damaged room once used by Hezbollah operatives in the Saluki Valley, south Lebanon, on Wednesday, August 20, 2025. (AP/Hussein Malla)
Under the November ceasefire that ended last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah, Beirut’s army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the terrorist group’s infrastructure there.
Lebanon has been grappling with the thorny issue of disarming Hezbollah, with the cabinet this month tasking the army with developing a plan to do so by the end of the year. The terrorist group has pushed back.
Under the truce, Israel was meant to completely withdraw from Lebanon, though it has kept forces in several areas it deems strategic. It continues to conduct strikes across Lebanon, including one on Monday, in response to what it says are ceasefire violations.
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel is “ready to support” Lebanon’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah and will implement a phased reduction of its military presence in Lebanon as a “reciprocal measure.”
“Israel stands ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah and to work together towards a more secure and stable future for both nations,” the statement from his office said.
US Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a joint press conference, following his meeting with Lebanon’s president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on August 18, 2025. (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
The statement came a day after top US envoy Tom Barrack, accompanied by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, reportedly met in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials to discuss Syria and Lebanon.
Barrack said in Beirut last week that Israel should honor its commitments under the ceasefire, in light of Beirut’s decision to work toward Hezbollah’s disarmament.
“I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They’ve taken the first step. Now what we need is Israel to comply,” Barrack said following a meeting in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric fields questions for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a press conference, June 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
The resolution being debated in the UNSC would give one more year to the mandate of the 10,800-strong UNIFIL force made up of Indonesian, Indian, Italian, Ghanaian, Nepalese and other nationalities.
As the vote nears, a senior UN official 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.
The official said UNIFIL had facilitated the deployment of 8,300 Lebanese armed forces troops to 120 locations, assisting with logistics, funds and even fuel as well as training support.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric last week called the force’s support of Lebanon’s army “critical,” adding, “We have always felt and known that UNIFIL is a presence of stability along the blue line,” the Israel-Lebanon border.
The UN Security Council holds an emergency meeting on the situation in Gaza at United Nations headquarters in New York on August 10, 2025. (John Lamparski / AFP)
It was not clear if Washington, which wields a veto on the Security Council, would accept the compromise language, with a US State Department spokesman previously telling AFP it would not comment on the council’s deliberations.
The text also contained language “condemning the incidents that affected United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon premises and forces, injuring several peacekeepers” — a reference to strikes by Israel on UNIFIL positions that have caused injuries and damage. Israel was not specifically named.
After one such strike in October 2024, Israel said Hezbollah operatives had been fighting near UN posts and that it had issued a warning to UN peacekeepers prior to the strike.
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