US mulls ending UN peacekeeping mandate for southern Lebanon with Israeli support

The United States is considering whether to pull its support and end the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the coming months, and Israel is expected to support its decision.

According to the original report by Israel Hayom, with confirmations by The Jerusalem Post and the Times of Israel, the U.S. is seriously considering “major reforms,” which could include the end of UNIFIL’s mandate - renewed annually and due for review in August.

Israel reportedly won’t “try to convince them otherwise.” Jerusalem has regularly blasted UNIFIL for failing its mandate to monitor and warn against Hezbollah’s violations of UN Resolution 1701.

The resolution was introduced after the 2006 Lebanon War and expanded on UNIFIL’s original 1978 mandate to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon at the time.

Israel has strongly criticized the UN peacekeeping force in recent years for failing to sound the alarm over Hezbollah’s stockpiling of weapons and building of infrastructure along Israel’s border, while instead criticizing Israel for striking the terror group.

During the war last year, UNIFIL refused to vacate the combat zones in Lebanon, which led to several incidents where Hezbollah used their bases as shields against Israeli fire.

The slap that has become famous in #Lebanon: Earlier today, plain cloth #Hezbollah militants physically assaulted the UN “interim” since 1978 peace keeping force UNIFIL, blocking its inspection of a likely Hezbollah arms depot. UNIFIL costs $500 million a year, money’d be better… pic.twitter.com/XtvQo4n29W

— Hussain Abdul-Hussain (@hahussain) June 10, 2025

Since the end of the war and the election of a new Lebanese government, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have stepped up efforts to dismantle Hezbollah sites in the south and expanded their deployment there, potentially making UNIFIL completely redundant.

The LAF now has some 6,000 soldiers deployed south of the Litani River, and has markedly increased patrols, checkpoints and inspection stations. So far, it says it has raided over 500 Hezbollah positions and destroyed weapon stockpiles.

In addition, a string of recent incidents where UNIFIL soldiers have been attacked by civilians has further damaged the peacekeepers’ image.

Last Tuesday, a UNIFIL force on patrol with the LAF was pelted with rocks, and a video showing one soldier being slapped in the face went immediately viral.

“It is unacceptable that UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to be targeted,” the force said, adding that troops used “non-lethal measures” to disperse the crowds.

The force currently has some 10,000 soldiers from about 50 countries and a budget of over half a billion dollars annually.

Despite its cost and ineffectiveness, experts from the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) counseled to continue UNIFIL’s mandate for at least another year.

“Although Israel has an interest in ending UNIFIL’s ineffective mandate in order to preserve its own freedom of action, the timing is not yet right; the Lebanese army is still incapable of operating independently against Hezbollah,” Orna Mizrahi and Moran Levanoni wrote in a recent report.

“Israel should suggest a temporary extension, conditioned on improved efficiency and operational performance. It is also suggested that Israel, in parallel, promote a dialogue with Lebanon under American auspices, with the goal of formulating a new security arrangement to replace UNIFIL’s presence.”