[News] US, Israel agree to end UNIFIL mandate in south Lebanon

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 US, Israel agree to end UNIFIL mandate in south Lebanon: Report

Israel recently launched its largest attack on Beirut in months, and has
threatened to intensify attacks against Lebanon

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

JUN 9, 2025
(Photo credit: Reuters)

The US and Israel have agreed
<https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-857002>that the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) must cease its operations in the
country’s south, according to Hebrew media outlets.

Washington has decided not to renew UNIFIL’s mandate, and Israel “did not
try to convince them otherwise,” the report said.

A vote on the UNIFIL mandate is expected to take place at the UN Security
Council within the next few months, likely in August.

Another report in *Israel Hayom* said the US is considering pulling support
for UNIFIL. Sources told *Times of Israel*
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-said-to-mull-dissolving-un-peacekeeping-force-in-southern-lebanon/>that
the “option is on the table.”

“The US has not yet made up its mind regarding its future support for
UNIFIL, but it wants to see major reforms, which could mean pulling
support,” the sources added.

No officials from the US, Israel, or the UN have publicly commented on the
matter yet.

UNIFIL, which was established in 1978 and expanded after Israel's war on
Lebanon in 2006, currently includes more than 13,000 uniformed personnel
tasked with monitoring hostilities along the Blue Line and ensuring
humanitarian access.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing for UNIFIL’s
removal from Lebanon since as far back as October 2024.

Analysts have said that the move is intended to eliminate international
observers who could monitor or document Israeli military activity in
southern Lebanon. During the latest war, UNIFIL forces came under Israeli
fire <https://thecradle.co/articles-id/27336> several times.

“The exclusion of outside observers, whether it is journalists or UN
peacekeepers, seems a deliberate strategy to limit the scrutiny of Israeli
forces at a time when they are most needed,” Shane Darcy, professor at the
Irish Centre for Human Rights, said
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/16/netanyahu-wants-unifil-out-of-lebanon-why>
last year during Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon.

Other reports and analyses have said that Washington is looking to pressure
Beirut into accepting a new mandate for UNIFIL, including changes that
would see the interim force actively work against Hezbollah’s presence in
the south and destroy infrastructure without needing to coordinate with the
Lebanese army.

Such changes to the UNIFIL mandate are advocated for by Israeli reservist
and former head of the Israeli army’s Strategic Planning Division, Assaf
Orion, in a 29 May piece for the Washington Institute
<https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/unifils-fork-road>.
“The time has come for UNIFIL to either adapt or disband,” Orion says.

The Israeli media reports about UNIFIL’s future in Lebanon come days after
Tel Aviv launched its largest attacks on the Lebanese capital since the
start of the ceasefire.

Since the truce was reached in November 2024, Israel has violated the deal
over 3,000 times with constant attacks. Israeli forces also maintain an
occupation of five locations inside Lebanon, which they established
themselves in after the ceasefire, in violation of the agreement.

Hezbollah and the Lebanese state have abided by the agreement. The
resistance has handed over weapons and military positions to the Lebanese
army south of the Litani River.

Yet it rejects US and Israeli pressure for full disarmament.

On 6 June, Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, threatened
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31235> Lebanon with an escalation of
attacks if Hezbollah is not disarmed.

“There will be no calm in Beirut, and no order or stability in Lebanon,
without security for Israel,” he said.
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