- Vigil category device · not official insignia
Identity provenance
Vigil category device — drawn from this record’s own domain, echelon and role. Not an official insignia.
In brief
The UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, organised in Sector West and Sector East under a headquarters at Naqoura with a maritime task force, whose operations cease on 31 December 2026 under resolution 2790 (2025), with withdrawal to follow within one year.
- Scope
- Structure, role, lineage and links. 1 subordinate record published.
- Subordination
- Subordination confirmed
- Sources
- 4 on the record
- Record state
- Partial
- Broad area of activity
- South Lebanon between the Blue Line and the Litani, and Lebanese waters for the maritime task force
- Notable history
- Created in 1978 by resolutions 425 and 426, UNIFIL was enlarged and given its current tasks by resolution 1701 (2006), which also created its Maritime Task Force, the first UN naval task force. The November 2024 cessation of hostilities (S/2024/870) kept its work going and made it host of the US-chaired Mechanism. On 28 August 2025 the Security Council, in resolution 2790 (2025), extended the mandate "for a final time" to 31 December 2026 and requested UNIFIL "to cease its operations on 31 December 2026" and, from that date and within one year, to draw down and withdraw, with the Government of Lebanon as the "sole provider of security in southern Lebanon". The Secretary-General set out three post-UNIFIL options in June 2026 (S/2026/453) without recommending one. Through the 2026 war the force stayed at its positions with a reduced footprint; the Secretary-General reported seven peacekeepers killed between February and June. Its strength was 8,005 military personnel from 47 countries at 20 June 2026 (S/2026/566) and 7,565 from 46 countries as of 23 September 2026 (UNIFIL).
- Strengths
- The only standing, impartial observer on the Blue Line, with continuous reporting through the Secretary-General's 1701 reports, and a host role for military coordination that every party has used.
- Limitations
- No enforcement mandate, a budget cut that has already begun handovers of positions to the army, and a fixed end date. What follows UNIFIL after 31 December 2026 is unresolved: no Council resolution or statement on a successor or a postponement exists as of 11 October 2026, and this record assumes none. No contingents, positions or sector headquarters are recorded.
Subordinate formations
Rows are layout only — position and order carry no hierarchy, importance, sequence or strength. Every record shown is an immediate subordinate of the selected organisation.
Lineage & institutional history
Formal parent institution: United Nations (Security Council; Department of Peace Operations)
Campaigns
Campaigns naming this organisation as a participant. The campaign record owns the relationship and grades it; this list is computed.
- The Lebanon front, 2023–2024 Affected party · 8 October 2023 – 27 November 2024 · high confidence · as of 2024-11
Deployed between the Blue Line and the Litani throughout. UNIFIL reported its positions hit and peacekeepers injured during the ground operation in October 2024. The cessation of November 2024 placed it in the Mechanism.
- Lebanon's declared state monopoly of arms Supporting force · Declared plan · high confidence · as of 2026-06
Supports the army's deployment south of the Litani under Resolution 1701; the UN records one UNIFIL position handed to the army by June 2026. It ends operations on 31 December 2026.
- The 2026 Lebanon war Affected party · Since 2 March 2026 · high confidence · as of 2026-06
The UN records seven peacekeepers killed in four incidents in the period to 20 June, attributing two deaths to the IDF, four to non-state actors "presumably Hizbullah", and one incident as undetermined. UNIFIL ends operations on 31 December 2026 under Resolution 2790.
Key events
Israel's Litani operation, and Resolution 425 creates UNIFIL
Israel moves into southern Lebanon up to the Litani river against PLO forces. On 19 March 1978 the Security Council adopts Resolutions 425 and 426, calling for Israeli withdrawal and establishing the UN Interim Force in Lebanon to confirm it and assist the Lebanese government in restoring its authority in the area.
Resolution 1701 ends the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah war
A Hezbollah cross-border raid on 12 July 2006 opens a 34-day war. On 11 August the Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1701, calling for a full cessation of hostilities, deployment of the Lebanese army and an enlarged UNIFIL south of the Litani as Israel withdraws, an area between the Blue Line and the Litani free of armed personnel and weapons other than the state's and UNIFIL's, and full implementation of Resolution 1559. Hostilities stop on 14 August.
Quick actions
System access
Where this record connects into the rest of Vigil. Each row is here because this organisation actually reaches it.
Assessed as of — 2026-10 Last reviewed — 2026-10-12
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