Amid US strain, vote extends peacekeeping mission, however then requires ‘orderly and protected drawdown and withdrawal’.
Revealed On 28 Aug 2025
The United Nations Safety Council has voted to increase the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) till the tip of 2026, however to then terminate the mission in an “orderly and protected drawdown and withdrawal” over the next yr.
The unanimous vote on Thursday got here simply days earlier than the mission was set to run out on August 31, and as the US and its shut ally, Israel, have more and more pushed for UNIFIL’s termination.
Initially created to supervise the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion, the mandate has been renewed yearly since.
The mission was expanded following the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, with proponents saying it stays essential to sustaining a demilitarised buffer between the 2 sides.
The accepted decision says that UNIFIL will proceed its operations till December 2026, at which it might start withdrawing UNIFIL’s 10,800 army and civilian personnel and tools. That will occur in session with the Lebanese authorities.
The decision additional goals to make the Lebanese authorities “the only supplier of safety” in southern Lebanon north of the UN-drawn border with Israel, often known as the Blue Line, whereas calling on Israel to withdraw its forces.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has pushed for an finish to UNIFIL since taking workplace in January and has already overseen the reducing of US funding to the pressure.
Israel has lengthy accused UNIFIL of failing to forestall threats posed by Hezbollah, and has more and more pushed for the tip of its mission since cross-border combating escalated within the wake of October 7, 2023.
All through its newest floor invasion of Lebanon, which started in October 2024, Israel has been repeatedly accused of attacking UNIFL positions and injuring peacekeepers.
Regardless of a November ceasefire settlement, Israel has repeatedly struck targets in Lebanon and has maintained boots on the bottom in some strategic positions.
Thursday’s vote comes because the has been pushing a plan together with Lebanon’s authorities to disarm Hezbollah. The group has rejected the prospect, citing Israel’s continued presence in Lebanon.
