Lebanon has hosted UNIFIL south of the Litani since 1978. Resolution 2790 ends its operations on 31 December 2026, with withdrawal within a year. The Secretary-General set out three options for what follows; as of October 2026 the Council has decided none, and Lebanon has asked for more time.
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon maintains a presence hosted by Lebanon. A directional arrangement: the two parties do not hold the same position in it. Authored once and read from both ends.
The arrangement
- Status
- ActiveIn force and operating. Says nothing about how well it is working, or about which way it is heading.Last material change: 2025-08-28.
- What it covers
- BasingDefenceInstitutionalCategories the arrangement is documented to include. Not a measure: a relationship covering more of them is described in more detail, not held more firmly.
Summary
UNIFIL was created in 1978 after Israel's Litani operation and enlarged by Resolution 1701 in 2006 to support the Lebanese army's deployment south of the Litani. Resolution 2790, adopted unanimously on 28 August 2025, extended the mandate "for a final time" to 31 December 2026, when UNIFIL ceases operations and begins a drawdown and withdrawal to be completed within one year, in consultation with Lebanon. The United States said it was the last extension it would support. On 20 June 2026 the force numbered 8,005 military personnel from 47 contributing countries, according to the Secretary-General, and 7,565 from 46 countries on 23 September, according to UNIFIL; it had remained at all positions with a reduced footprint at exposed ones and handed one position to the Lebanese army. Seven peacekeepers were killed between 21 February and 20 June 2026: the UN attributes two deaths in one incident to the IDF, four in two incidents to non-state actors, "presumably Hizbullah", and one incident is undetermined. The Secretary-General's letter of 1 June 2026 set out three options for a successor presence, from about 5,525 to about 1,980 personnel, without recommending one. Lebanon's letter of 26 August 2026 called a limited extension "the most practical option", according to press reports; Israel's ambassador said the 2790 decision should be respected. No Council decision on a successor or a postponement exists as of 11 October 2026.
Why it matters
UNIFIL is the only international presence on the ground between the two armies and the source of the Blue Line counts this module relies on. Its scheduled end removes both, and nothing in the June 2026 Framework, which does not mention UNIFIL, replaces them.
Agreements
- Security Council resolution 2790 (2025) · signed 2025-08-28
A Council decision, not a bilateral instrument; listed because it sets the arrangement's end. OP1 extends the mandate "for a final time" to 31 December 2026; OP5 has UNIFIL cease operations on that date and draw down and withdraw within one year; OP4 calls on Israel to withdraw north of the Blue Line, including from the five positions; OP10 asked for options by 1 June 2026, delivered as S/2026/453.
Related events
- Israel's Litani operation, and Resolution 425 creates UNIFIL 14 – 19 Mar 1978
Military · Diplomatic
- Resolution 1701 ends the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah war 12 Jul – 14 Aug 2006 (adopted 11 Aug)
Diplomatic · Military
- Resolution 2790 extends UNIFIL for a final time 28 Aug 2025
Diplomatic · Military
What remains unknown
- UNIFIL's strength after 20 June 2026 is not established from an official source; press in October 2026 gave about 7,500.
- The next Secretary-General's report on 1701, covering 21 June to 20 October 2026, is not yet published.
- Lebanon's 26 August 2026 letter was read through press reporting, not from the UN document.
Readings the evidence also supports
- The end of UNIFIL can be read as the Council's judgment that the force could not implement 1701, or as the result of one permanent member's position; the US explanation of vote supports the second reading for the United States and says nothing of the others.
Listed because the record's own assessment is not the only one its sources permit — not as a hedge on the assessment above.
Watch questions this relationship bears on
Standing analytical questions whose evidence runs through this relationship, each with its latest review. Derived from the Watch object, never restated here.
All Levant relationships Open in Explore
Assessed as of — 2026-10-11 Last reviewed — 2026-10-11