EU weighs mission to train Lebanese forces as UNIFIL mandate nears end
With UNIFIL's mandate set to expire at the end of 2026, the EU has floated a proposal for a three-year mission to train Lebanon's military and police. Analysts suggest Israel might benefit from the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers. The proposal will be discussed at an EU ministers' meeting in Ireland this week.
UNIFIL was established in 1978 following Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon, with its duties expanded after the 2006 war through Security Council Resolution 1701 to include ceasefire monitoring and supporting Lebanese army deployment. The force, however, never possessed enforcement authority, limited to observation and reporting rather than compelling Israeli withdrawal or disarming armed groups.
The EU's proposed three-year mission would focus on advising and training Lebanon's military and police in border and maritime security, explicitly not replacing UNIFIL. The UN is separately considering residual arrangements, with options ranging from 900 to 3,000 personnel, a significant reduction from UNIFIL's current roughly 7,000 troops. Lebanon remains under near-daily Israeli bombardment, with a fifth of its territory occupied and about 335,000 people displaced.
The expiration of UNIFIL's mandate could reshape the security landscape in southern Lebanon, potentially affecting the roughly 335,000 displaced civilians and broader regional stability. A reduced international presence may create a power vacuum that Israel could exploit militarily, while a weakened Lebanese state might struggle to assert control. European training missions could strengthen Lebanese institutions, but without enforcement capabilities, their impact may remain limited. The outcome could influence ceasefire dynamics and the daily safety of civilians caught between Israeli operations and Hezbollah's presence.