The European Union is backing an extension of the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, warning that a withdrawal could create a security vacuum, France24 reported.
Kallas also said the bloc aims to establish a separate training and advisory mission for the Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces by the end of the year.
The mission would provide training and capability development across Lebanon to help its security forces strengthen government control.
Concerns Over Peacekeeping Gap
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has around 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries, is due to end its mandate on December 31, 2026, under a UN Security Council decision adopted last year.
Some European nations, including France and Italy, major contributors to UNIFIL, have previously expressed willingness to establish a multinational force to succeed it.
Kallas warned that UNIFIL’s departure without a successor force could leave a gap in verifying compliance with the US-backed ceasefire framework agreed by Israel and Lebanon in June.
The agreement calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament, a phased Israeli withdrawal, and the deployment of Lebanese troops in the south.
Implementation has largely stalled, including in designated “pilot zones” where the process was meant to begin soon after the ceasefire.
Conflict Background
Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel subsided after the June ceasefire, following a sharp escalation in March when Hezbollah fired rockets in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.
Israel responded with a major air and ground campaign.
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli attacks have continued, and Israeli troops remain in a self-declared security zone extending around 10 kilometers (six miles) into southern Lebanon, where dozens of villages have been razed.
Hostilities began in October 2023 amid Israel’s war on Gaza. Over three years, Israeli attacks have killed 8,954 people, and 30,660 were injured, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Around 330,000 people remained internally displaced in Lebanon, according to the International Organization for Migration.
