The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to terminate the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon over the next two years, signaling the end of an effort begun nearly half a century ago to patrol the volatile borderlands between southern Lebanon and Israel.
The council approved a plan to extend the mission, known as the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, only until the end of 2026, after which it will begin a “one-year withdrawal” process, leaving “Lebanon fully in charge of southern security.”
About 10,000 peacekeepers are stationed in southern Lebanon, a region long dominated by the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Israel has called on the United Nations to disband the mission. The Israelis have argued that Hezbollah was severely weakened in its war last year with Israel and the peacekeeping mission has become obsolete.
Lebanese and European officials have warned that premature withdrawal could jeopardize the fragile cease-fire that has been in effect between Israel and Hezbollah since November. In recent months, the Lebanese government has faced mounting pressure from the United States and Israel to completely disarm Hezbollah. Though weakened, the group remains a military and political force in Lebanon, and it has strongly rejected calls to disarm.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrated the vote, saying in a statement that the U.N. force, known as UNIFIL, had “completely failed to prevent Hezbollah’s military buildup.” The authorization of an “orderly and gradual withdrawal,” it said, would contribute to “regional stability.”
The peacekeepers, who have no mandate to use force except in self-defense, have drawn sharp criticism from both sides of the border, where they operate as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah. Supporters of Hezbollah view them as sympathetic to Israel; Israelis see the force as toothless.
“Over time, we should not need international forces in Lebanon, UNIFIL or otherwise,” said Paul Salem, the vice president for international engagement at the Middle East Institute, a research group in Washington. But the Lebanese state has not exercised full control over its territory for many years, leaving a vacuum if the peacekeeping mission were to suddenly withdraw, he added.
Euan Ward and Christina Goldbaum contributed reporting.
Pranav Baskar is an international reporter and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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