UN Peacekeepers Prepare to Leave Lebanon as UNIFIL Mandate Nears End
Israeli forces remain in the south, Hezbollah is still armed, and the Lebanese prime minister warns of a possible security vacuum
By AXY Defense Desk ·
Key points
- UNIFIL's mandate is due to end on December 31, 2026, and peacekeepers are likely to begin withdrawing from the Blue Line zone that day.
- Lebanon's government has sought an extension, but so far without success, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has warned of a vacuum.
- Israel remains present in southern Lebanon, including a self-declared security zone called the Yellow Line, while Hezbollah rejects disarmament.
- A new EU support mission aims to strengthen the Lebanese army but will not replace UN peacekeepers.
- About 329,000 people remained internally displaced in Lebanon as of September 29, according to the International Organization for Migration.
UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon are likely to begin pulling out of the Blue Line zone on December 31, 2026, when the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, comes to an end. The Lebanese government has pushed for a last-minute extension, but so far without success. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has warned of the need to "avert the vacuum that UNIFIL's withdrawal could create, were it to take place without agreement on a new international force to replace it."
The mission's 7,565 peacekeepers from 46 countries have patrolled the border area for decades. Their departure would leave a region that has seen repeated wars without the most visible international presence on the ground. Israel remains present in parts of the south, Hezbollah is still armed, and the people who live in border villages are the ones who will feel the difference first.
What the mandate is and why it is ending
UNIFIL is a United Nations peacekeeping mission, which means its troops are deployed with the consent of the host country to observe, report and help keep a cease-fire or border calm. A mandate is the formal authority set by the UN Security Council that defines what a mission may do and how long it may do it. When a mandate expires, the troops must leave unless the Council agrees to renew it.
The current mandate runs until December 31, 2026. Its end has been a subject of debate in Beirut and at the United Nations, and the Lebanese government has been pressing for an extension. According to the mission's spokesperson, Kandice Ardiel, the drawdown and withdrawal would then take place in stages. That means the force would not leave all at once, but would reduce its numbers and equipment over a period of time after the mandate ends.
How UNIFIL got here
The mission is older than many of the people now living in the south. Multinational UNIFIL troops were first deployed to the region in 1978, after Israel invaded Lebanon in response to attacks by Palestinian armed groups. The early force was meant to monitor the area and help restore peace, and it became a fixture of the border for the next four decades.
The mission changed after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Its mandate was expanded to support the Lebanese army in carrying out UN Security Council Resolution 1701. That resolution calls for the area between the Blue Line and the Litani River to be free of armed personnel, assets and weapons, except those belonging to the Lebanese government and UNIFIL. It also calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. The Litani is a river that runs through southern Lebanon, and it has long been a reference point in discussions about who controls the area near the border.
Those conditions have not been fully met. The text of the resolution remains the framework that many governments use when they talk about the south, but the gap between what it calls for and what is happening on the ground has grown wider.
The Blue Line and the Yellow Line
The Blue Line is central to the story because it is the line UNIFIL patrols. It stretches for 120 kilometers (75 miles) and was identified by the UN as a line of withdrawal between Israel and Lebanon. It was established in 2000. It is not an internationally agreed border, which is one reason the zone around it is so sensitive. Each side has long used the line in different ways, and it has never been a settled frontier in the way a recognized border is.
Since the cross-border attacks by Hezbollah in October 2023 and the war that followed in 2024, Israel has occupied large areas of Lebanese territory. It has done so inside what it calls a self-declared security zone, known as the Yellow Line, which sits north of the Blue Line. That means Israeli forces are not just at the edge of the UN zone. In places, they are on the Lebanese side of it.
For residents, the difference between the two lines is practical. A patrol line on a map may not match the boundary a family sees from their village road, and the presence of troops on the other side changes how people move, farm and send their children to school.
Civilians caught in the middle
The human cost of the latest fighting is large. Of the more than 1.2 million people displaced in Lebanon during the renewed conflict in 2026, around 329,000 remained internally displaced as of September 29, according to the International Organization for Migration. Many of them cannot simply return to what they left behind. Israel has also caused extensive destruction to homes and key infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Israel has said it needs to protect its citizens in northern Israel from attacks launched from the area.
UNIFIL says it is working to keep civilians moving safely. Ardiel said the mission is "liaising between the parties on a daily basis to ensure safe movements of civilians, humanitarian aid, and peacekeeping patrols." For people who depend on aid convoys and safe routes, those daily contacts between the parties can be the difference between reaching a clinic and not reaching it.
Hezbollah, Israel and a fragile south
Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States and Germany. The European Union designates its armed wing as a terrorist organization. The group continues to reject disarmament, and says it needs to defend itself for as long as Israeli forces remain in Lebanon. That position is the core of the deadlock. Israel says it needs to act against attacks from the area, Hezbollah says it cannot disarm while Israeli troops are present, and the Lebanese state has struggled to make the two sides move.
Hezbollah is also closely linked to Iran. In case of renewed conflict between Iran and Israel, it is likely that Hezbollah would open a second front in Israel's north in support of Iran. Analysts see that link as one reason the south could become a flashpoint again, even if fighting in the area quiets for a time. For this reason, the question of who fills the space after UNIFIL is not only a local matter.
The spokesperson described the current situation in stark terms. "The situation in southern Lebanon remains tense," Ardiel said in an interview. She listed "continued Israeli military operations, including overflights of Lebanese airspace by jets, helicopters and drones, airstrikes, artillery strikes and mortar fire." Those are not the conditions of a settled border, and they make any mission's work harder.
A new EU mission and what it cannot do
A new European Union support mission is meant to help. Its goal is to strengthen Lebanon's army. That matters because the Lebanese army is widely seen as the institution that would have to take over security functions in the south if the UN force leaves. However, the EU mission will not replace UN peacekeepers. Training and equipping an army is different from having an international force on the ground, watching a border and reporting violations.
That gap is the core of the uncertainty. A stronger Lebanese army may be part of a longer-term answer, but it does not automatically supply the neutral observation and daily communication that UNIFIL has provided. The prime minister's warning reflects that concern: without an agreed replacement, the withdrawal could leave a vacuum.
What to watch before December 31
The next steps will be closely watched. The first is whether the Lebanese government and its international partners can secure an extension or agree on a new international force before the mandate runs out. The second is how the drawdown proceeds once it starts. Ardiel's description of a staged process suggests that the mission will not vanish overnight, but the pace and sequence will shape what the south looks like in early 2027.
For the thousands of UNIFIL troops, the end of the mandate is also the end of a long posting. Ardiel said, "People have built careers, friendships, skills and a sense of purpose together." She added, "Endings are never easy, especially when there is a sense that the work we do is still needed." For the communities along the border, the questions are more immediate. They want to know who will watch the line, who will answer when shelling starts, and whether they can go home.
Questions and answers
When does the UNIFIL mandate end?
The UNIFIL mandate is set to end on December 31, 2026. Peacekeepers are most likely to begin withdrawing from the Blue Line zone on that date, and the drawdown would then take place in stages.
Why is UNIFIL leaving Lebanon?
UNIFIL's mandate is expiring, and the Lebanese government's push for a last-minute extension has so far failed. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has warned about the vacuum a withdrawal could create without a new international force.
Will the EU replace UN peacekeepers in Lebanon?
No. A new EU support mission aims to strengthen Lebanon's army, but it will not replace UN peacekeepers.
What is the Blue Line in Lebanon?
The Blue Line is a 120-kilometer (75-mile) line identified by the UN as a line of withdrawal between Israel and Lebanon. It was established in 2000 and is not an internationally agreed border.
Topics: UNIFIL, Lebanon, Israel, Hezbollah, UN peacekeeping, Blue Line, European Union, Nawaf Salam
Sources: DW World RSS