UN Secretary-General Guterres proposes new force to replace Lebanon's UNIFIL

The proposal appears to offer a workaround for the Security Council's decision last year to terminate UNIFIL by creating a new mission under a different framework.

UNIFIL currently deploys approximately 7,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries along the Blue Line, the 120-kilometer de facto border separating Lebanon from Israel. The force has maintained a buffer presence in southern Lebanon since 1978.

The most ambitious proposal would deploy approximately 350 UN military observers, supported by four infantry battalions of 750 troops each and a reserve force of 700 soldiers.

Under this model, the force would be capable of monitoring most of the Blue Line, conducting patrols up to the Litani River, investigating violations, coordinating closely with both the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and physically positioning itself between the parties to help prevent escalation. It would also support ceasefire monitoring and strengthen the Lebanese state authority in the south.

The intermediate option would include 285 military observers, two battalions of 750 troops each, and a reserve force of 450 soldiers.

This force would retain some direct monitoring capabilities along the Blue Line and investigate violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, albeit on a more limited scale. Coordination between the parties would continue, but the force would have only a limited ability to separate hostile forces or de-escalate incidents. Its support for Lebanese Army operations would also be reduced.

The lightest option would consist of 215 unarmed military observers, protected by two battalions of 450 troops each and a 350-member quick reaction force.

Under this model, the UN would primarily observe and report. It would be able to monitor only parts of the Blue Line, investigate certain violations, and facilitate communication between the parties, but it would lack the ability to position itself between the IDF and Lebanese forces or meaningfully de-escalate crises. Its engineering, demining, and enforcement capabilities would be minimal.

All three options assume substantial support assets, including helicopters for medical evacuation, engineering and demining units, surveillance systems, drones, radar capabilities, and satellite imagery. The UN notes that without these technological enablers, continuous monitoring of the entire Blue Line would be impossible.

Notably, the report does not present an option for ending the UN's military presence in southern Lebanon, despite the Security Council's decision. Instead, it offers only alternatives for maintaining an international force in the area.

For nearly 50 years, UNIFIL was tasked with enforcing the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and, in particular, monitoring the prohibition on Hezbollah's armed presence south of the Litani River. In recent years, however, this mandate was not effectively implemented.

The shortcomings became especially apparent during the war, when extensive Hezbollah positions, weapons stockpiles, and ammunition depots were discovered in close proximity to UN bases.

In 2025, the UN Security Council voted to terminate UNIFIL's mandate, with the mission scheduled to end completely by the close of 2026. The plan called for UNIFIL personnel to withdraw from Lebanon during 2027. The resolution passed unanimously, with all 15 Security Council members voting in favor.

"Those who failed to prevent Hezbollah's rearmament for two decades will not achieve different results simply by wearing different uniforms and operating under a new title."