Aoun urges continued international force in south Lebanon as UNIFIL mandate nears end

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomes a parliamentary petition calling to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon set to end this year, stressing the need for an international presence in the country’s south, according to Lebanese media.

“Our first option is to extend UNIFIL’s mandate,” Aoun says, according to LBCI Lebanon News. “If it is not renewed, our second option is to adopt a framework that ensures the continued presence of international forces in the south, within the required legal framework and alongside the Lebanese Army, in coordination with it, to support stability and carry out their assigned tasks,” Aoun adds.

While Israel has opposed UNIFIL’s presence and has been pressing for its withdrawal, Aoun says, he urges a continued international presence in the south by either extending UNIFIL’s mandate or deploying another international force to preserve stability and strengthen the role of the Lebanese state and army, according to LBCI.

The role of an international body to oversee military activity in southern Lebanon has been a key issue in recent talks between Israel and Lebanon. The two sides still need to agree on a list of countries that will serve on a third-party committee tasked with verifying that pilot zones established under the US-backed framework between the neighboring countries have been fully demilitarized.

A US State Department spokesperson reiterated last week Washington’s opposition to extending UNIFIL’s mandate, as the US — like Israel — believes it has not done a sufficient job in preventing Hezbollah’s rearmament.

In August last year, the UN Security Council, under US pressure, decided to end UNIFIL’s mandate on December 31, 2026.