UN weighs continued Lebanon presence after peacekeeping mission ends

GENEVA - Some form of ongoing U.N. presence might continue after a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon ends later this year, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Thursday.

The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), first deployed in 1978, has over 7,000 peacekeepers from 47 nations. It has reported five of them killed in recent weeks, three from Indonesia and two from France, in the latest war between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Lacroix told reporters in Geneva that he was consulting with all parties about the options after its mandate formally stops at the end of December and will make formal recommendations to the Security Council by June.

"They're (the Lebanese) very clear that they would want to keep a U.N. presence," he said. "We're looking at a presence that would probably be smaller than UNIFIL," he added.

UNIFIL's mandate currently includes monitoring a ceasefire, supporting the Lebanese army in its deployment into the south, and helping it enforce a prohibition of illegal arms there.

Hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel reignited on March 2, when the Lebanese group opened fire in support of Iran, and a strained ceasefire is now in place. But attacks continue in southern Lebanon where Israeli troops have seized a self-declared buffer zone.

Lacroix said that he estimated that Israeli forces occupy "a significant stretch of land north of the Blue Line, with a massive level of demolition and no civilians allowed." The Blue Line is a U.N.-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

UNIFIL has remained in Lebanon through successive conflicts, including ​a 2024 war during which its positions came under fire repeatedly.

The U.N. has 11 peacekeeping missions around the world with over 46,000 personnel but is facing financial constraints due to unpaid fees by member states, forcing it to cut 25% of its operations, Lacroix said.

This is sometimes impacting its ability to protect civilians and maintain peace, he added. "We are trying to mitigate those impacts, but they are very real."

-Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Toby Chopra/Reuters