What this actor is
UNIFIL is the UN force in southern Lebanon and, until the end of 2026, the only neutral observer of the Blue Line with a standing count of what crosses it. Resolution 2790 of 28 August 2025, adopted unanimously, extended its mandate "for a final time": it ceases operations on 31 December 2026 and withdraws within a year. The Secretary-General set out three options for what might follow in June 2026, and the Council had taken no action on any of them by 11 October 2026. During the 2026 war the force stayed at all its positions with a reduced footprint; seven peacekeepers were killed between February and June, two by Israeli fire in one incident and four in two incidents the UN attributes to non-state actors, "presumably Hizbullah". It hosted the 2024 cessation-of-hostilities Mechanism, which suspended its meetings on 18 March 2026; the Trilateral Framework of June 2026 does not mention UNIFIL.
Confidence: High Reviewed 2026-10-11
What its reporting measures
UNIFIL's radar counts trajectories, not projectiles, and cannot detect air-to-surface missiles, tank rounds, portable anti-tank missiles or light weapons. Between 21 February and 20 June 2026 it recorded 52,514 trajectories south to north and 6,929 north to south, 2,418 air strikes and 9,993 airspace violations. When its operations end, the Secretary-General's four-monthly 1701 reporting loses its principal source; resolution 1701 itself does not lapse.
Sources: UN Security Council resolutions, Secretary-General reports and meeting records (Levant)↗
Constraints
The United States said resolution 2790 was the last extension it would support. Israel's ambassador has said the decision should be respected, while Lebanon seeks a limited extension. Movement depends on Israeli deconfliction: the IDF responded to 55 per cent of 5,273 requests in the February–June 2026 period.
Sources: US government statements and documents on Israel, Gaza and Lebanon · Security Council Report — monthly forecasts↗ · UN Security Council resolutions, Secretary-General reports and meeting records (Levant)↗
Position in the system
UNIFIL is the system's neutral eye on the Blue Line and is being replaced not by another UN force but, so far, by nothing agreed: the US-facilitated military coordination group of the Trilateral Framework, which names no third-party verifier, is the only successor mechanism in existence.
Sources: Treaty and agreement texts — Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and neighbours↗ · UN Security Council resolutions, Secretary-General reports and meeting records (Levant)↗
Not published for United Nations Interim Force in LebanonPosture (objectives, constraints, leverage)
Elsewhere in Levant
Last reviewed — 2026-10-11