Overview

• The decision on UNIFIL’s future has been pushed to later this week as talks continue ahead of the mandate’s Sunday expiry.
• A French draft under discussion would extend the mission to August 31, 2026 and signal work toward a withdrawal that leaves the Lebanese government as sole security provider in the south.
• UN officials call the force’s backing of the Lebanese army critical, citing support that enabled 8,300 troops to deploy to 120 locations and warning that a rapid pullout would be risky.
• The draft text condemns recent incidents that injured peacekeepers and damaged UNIFIL sites, without naming Israel, which reporting says carried out the strikes.
• The mission faces U.S. and Israeli skepticism over effectiveness, as Lebanon’s cabinet tasks the army with a plan to disarm Hezbollah by year’s end under the post-truce framework.