The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is preparing for a major drawdown of its peacekeeping presence, with plans to withdraw most of its troops by mid-2027 following the expiration of its mandate at the end of this year, a UN spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.
For decades, UNIFIL has acted as a stabilising buffer along the volatile Israel–Lebanon frontier, working closely with the Lebanese Armed Forces to monitor southern Lebanon and, in the wake of the latest conflict, assist in dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure near the border with Israel.
Last year, amid pressure from the United States and Israel, the UN Security Council voted to bring UNIFIL’s mandate to an end on December 31, 2026, calling for an “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal” to be completed within the following year.
UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said the mission intends to “draw down and withdraw all, or substantially all, uniformed personnel by mid-year 2027,” with the full pullout expected to be completed by the end of that year.
Once the mission’s operational mandate expires on December 31 this year, Ardiel explained, UNIFIL will begin repatriating personnel and equipment and transferring its positions to Lebanese authorities. During this transition phase, peacekeepers will be authorised to carry out only limited tasks, primarily focused on protecting UN staff and facilities and ensuring a safe and orderly withdrawal.
The planned exit comes despite a ceasefire brokered in November 2024 aimed at ending more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. Since the truce, Israel has continued to carry out regular strikes inside Lebanon—saying it is targeting Hezbollah—and has maintained troops in five locations along the border.
UNIFIL continues to patrol southern Lebanon and monitor violations of a UN resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and now underpins the current ceasefire. Since the truce took effect, the mission has repeatedly reported Israeli fire at or near its personnel.
Ardiel noted that UNIFIL has already significantly reduced its presence, with nearly 2,000 peacekeepers leaving southern Lebanon in recent months and several hundred more scheduled to depart by May. The force currently comprises around 7,500 peacekeepers from 48 countries.
She stressed that these reductions were “a direct result” of a UN-wide financial crisis and cost-cutting measures affecting all peacekeeping operations, and not directly linked to the decision to end UNIFIL’s mandate.
Lebanese authorities have voiced concern over the impending withdrawal and are calling for a continued international military presence in the south, even if at reduced levels, urging European countries to remain engaged.
During a visit to Beirut this month, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the Lebanese army should assume responsibility for security in the south once UNIFIL departs. Italy, meanwhile, has signalled its intention to maintain a military presence in Lebanon after the peacekeeping mission ends.
