G7 agrees on need to avert ‘security void’ in Lebanon after UNIFIL withdrawal

PARIS, France — G7 foreign ministers agreed on “the need to avoid a security void” in Lebanon after UN peacekeepers pull out, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday after a meeting of the group in Paris.

They also backed “the need to move quickly toward a new security architecture” after the mandate of United Nations peacekeeping forces in Israel’s neighbour expires at the end of the year, he said.

But Barrot acknowledged there had been no breakthrough on what should replace the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has been in place since Israel’s 1978 invasion and now counts some 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries.

Following the month-long 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded to, theoretically, ensure the Iran-backed terror group could not set up military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

Under US pressure and after Israeli criticism, the UN Security Council voted last year to end UNIFIL’s mandate on December 31, 2026.

Israel has long accused UNIFIL of failing to fulfill its mission, pointing to Hezbollah’s extensive construction of border-area military infrastructure, which enabled the terror group to attack Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after the Hamas onslaught in southern Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told AFP in October that the bloc favored a UN peacekeeping mandate in south Lebanon.

“I am hopeful that we will reach a consensus,” said Barrot. “The objective is widely shared: the withdrawal of Israel (from southern Lebanon), the disarmament of Hezbollah (which is pro-Iranian), and the restoration of a strong state that holds a monopoly on the use of arms — a state capable of ensuring the security and prosperity of all the populations and all the communities in Lebanon.”

“We underscored the need for a robust, credible and long-lasting security architecture in Lebanon in support of the Lebanese Armed Forces,” the ministers said in their final communique.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that he had discussed the issue with President Emmanuel Macron and suggested that what replaces UNIFIL “doesn’t have to be a military mission; it could be a civilian mission.”

“We need a verification system trusted by everyone and trusted by both sides that both sides are complying with their obligations under the agreements that are in place,” Rubio said.

A transitional mechanism utilizing UNIFIL forces is among the options on the table, a European diplomat said, asking not to be named.

But this could require a UN Security Council resolution and thus run into an American veto, the diplomat warned.

The Europeans are also pushing a proposal for an international military coalition tasked with supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces in their mission to disarm Hezbollah.

However, the formation of such a coalition faces hesitation from Italy, which “remains strongly committed to its presence in Lebanon but appears reluctant to join an ad hoc coalition,” partly due to cost concerns, as such missions are not funded by the UN, diplomats said.

UNIFIL patrol comes under fire outside Israeli buffer zone

Amid the discussions to replace it, UNIFIL said that its forces came under fire during a “routine patrol” on Tuesday evening.

According to UNIFIL, the patrol near Wadi Jilou, east of Tyre and outside of the Israeli military’s buffer zone, “was fired upon with about a dozen rounds.”

“After identifying a muzzle flash, the patrol returned fire,” UNIFIL said, adding that the unidentified shooter then stopped firing.

No UNIFIL observers were injured in the incident.

UNIFIL called on the Lebanese government “to swiftly initiate an investigation to identify and hold the perpetrators accountable.”

Israeli who crossed over into Lebanon returned by UNIFIL

Additionally, an Israeli civilian illegally crossed the border into Lebanon earlier Tuesday, near the Rosh Hanikra Crossing, the military said.

The military said the man was located by UNIFIL forces near the border and handed over to IDF troops, who escorted him back to Israeli territory.

The man was then handed over to the police for further questioning. Crossing the border illegally is punishable by up to four years in jail.

The IDF said the incident is under investigation.

Border skirmishes sparked by Hezbollah’s attacks after October 7, 2023, ultimately led to an IDF invasion and massive strikes that decimated the terror group’s leadership.

Israel later withdrew from Lebanon, except for five strategic border posts, under a November 2024 US-brokered ceasefire deal that also required the Lebanese military to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

In early 2025, a new government took power in Lebanon that pledged to dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure in south Lebanon, but Israel accused Beirut of failing to uphold the pledge.

Israel most recently invaded Lebanon in March, after Hezbollah renewed its rocket attacks on Israel in response to the war that the US and Israel launched against Iran on February 28.

Subsequent US-brokered talks between Israel and the Lebanese government have secured a framework that envisions Israeli troops gradually withdrawing as Lebanese authorities disarm Hezbollah and deploy across the country’s south. The arrangement has already been implemented in certain “pilot zones” in south Lebanon, but progress has stalled in recent months.