Israel accuses UNIFIL of acting against its security interests after shooting down IDF drone

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is accusing the United Nations' peacekeeping force UNIFIL in southern Lebanon of acting against Israel's security interests.

“We encounter them documenting IDF forces instead of monitoring Hezbollah terrorists or the border,” a senior IDF officer told the news outlet Ynet News. “They act as a foreign force doing suspicious and irregular things, beyond their mandate."

The Israeli assessment comes after UNIFIL forces earlier this week shot down an IDF reconnaissance drone over southern Lebanon.

“An IDF intelligence-gathering drone was downed in the area of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon during a routine intelligence-gathering activity in the area. An initial inquiry suggests that UNIFIL forces stationed nearby deliberately fired at the drone and downed it. The drone's activity did not pose a threat to UNIFIL forces,” IDF International Spokesman, Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani said at the time. Israeli military officials later revealed that French UNIFIL troops were behind the downing of the Israeli recon drone. Israeli officials argue that UNIFIL's irregular action was meant to “show relevance.”

UNIFIL justified its action by claiming that it “applied necessary defensive countermeasures” after the Israeli drone flew over its patrol “in an aggressive manner.”

UNIFIL, which has 13,000 troops stationed in southern Lebanon, was created in 1978 with a UN mandate to preserve stability on the border between Lebanon and Israel. However, in practice, UNIFIL has done very little to prevent the powerful Iranian-backed terrorist militia Hezbollah from becoming a serious military threat to Israel and embedding itself in southern Lebanon. 

In October 2024, a former UNIFIL soldier told the Danish news outlet Danish news outlet B.T. that UNIFIL is “totally subject to Hezbollah.”

"We were totally subject to Hezbollah. We clearly had limited freedom of movement. For example, we never operated after dark for fear of Hezbollah. So they had free time in the evening and night hours,” the former UNIFIL soldier told the news outlet. 

In August, Israel welcomed the UN decision to end UNIFIL’s mission in Lebanon in 2026. 

“For a change, we have some good news coming from the UN,” Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon stated. 

The Iranian-backed terrorist militia Hezbollah has been severely degraded by the Israeli military after the Iranian-backed Jihadist group launched an unprovoked attack on northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023. Dozens of Israelis were killed and tens of thousands of Israelis were displaced from their homes as a result of Hezbollah’s aggression. A largely and severely decimated Hezbollah eventually agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024. 

However, US Ambassador to Turkey and Lebanon, Thomas Barrack, warned on Saturday that Hezbollah still constitutes a serious threat to Israel’s national security. 

“Thousands of missiles in southern Lebanon still threaten Israel,” Barrack assessed. “It makes no sense that there is no dialogue between the two countries. Lebanon has no time to waste. It must consolidate its weapons. Israel may respond in Lebanon depending on developments."

Hezbollah reportedly still has some 20,000 missiles and rockets as well as well as around 40,000 operatives. Prior to the war, Hezbollah reportedly had between 150,000 and 200,000 rockets and missiles that could reach most parts of Israel. 

Barrack openly admitted that Lebanon has become a failed state. 

“Lebanon is a failed state,” the US envoy stated. “It has no central bank, its banking system has collapsed. There is no electricity; people depend on private generators. Even water and education are provided by private suppliers. The state is Hezbollah, which in the south provides water and education."