Lebanon asks UN to pause UNIFIL pullout amid shifting security landscape
Lebanon has written to the UN Security Council urging a rethink of the planned UNIFIL withdrawal, warning that the move could leave a security gap.
Lebanon’s UN envoy Ahmad Arafa sent a letter to the Security Council on August 26, urging a reassessment of the scheduled termination of the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission. He argued that the security environment in Lebanon, along the Blue Line, and across the Middle East has altered dramatically since the fighting reignited on March 2 between Hezbollah and Israel. Israeli forces now control a roughly 10-km zone in southern Lebanon, and Israeli strikes have caused over 4,300 Lebanese deaths, according to the Health Ministry.
Beirut stressed its ongoing adherence to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the November 2024 cease-fire, and a US-Israel-Lebanon Trilateral Framework signed on June 26, all aimed at sustaining regional stability. The Lebanese delegation also questioned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s post-withdrawal options, which were based on pre-March consultations, and advocated for a limited extension of UNIFIL due to its operational expertise and local acceptance. Israel’s Danny Danon reiterated that the UN should respect the Council’s decision to end the mission by the end of the year, insisting the Lebanese army should take over border duties.
Why it matters
The request could delay the end of a decades-long UN peacekeeping presence, affecting regional stability and border security.
How this story developed
- Sep 3 Israeli air strike on motorcycle kills two in Kfar Reman as Lebanon tensions rise
- Sep 6 Israel ordered residents of Arab Salim to evacuate amid fresh air strikes in southern Lebanon.
- Sep 6 Three people were killed and 23 were injured in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, according to the health ministry.
- Sep 6 Israeli airstrikes killed four people and damaged Ghandour Hospital in south Lebanon.
- Sep 7 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged U.S. action following the airstrikes.
- Sep 7 New reports detail a fresh Israeli strike on Kfar Rumman that killed at least nine civilians, including children and medics.
- Sep 7 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the US and the international community to help stop Israeli attacks after the strikes killed at least four people.
- Sep 7 Latest reports put the civilian death toll at up to twelve.
- Sep 8 Updated reports put the death toll at up to 12 and note the death of an 18‑year‑old rescue worker.
- Sep 9 The next phase of Lebanon-Israel negotiations will hold military talks in Florida and political talks in Rome, with no breakthrough expected before Israel’s upcoming elections as Israeli forces continue operations in the south.
- Sep 10 The Israeli military announced it has demolished a Hezbollah tunnel system on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, saying the strike ends its underground presence there.
- Sep 11 Israeli leaders announced that the Hezbollah tunnel network on Ali Taher ridge had been destroyed.
- Sep 11 Israel announced it will continue striking Hezbollah sites after the tunnel demolition.
- Sep 12 Rome round of negotiations postponed to October.
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