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yesterday

EU Advances Plan to Train Lebanese Forces as UNIFIL Prepares to Leave

Legal limits, Israeli opposition, and UN proposals for a much smaller troop presence leave the mission's size and authority unresolved after UNIFIL's withdrawal.

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EU European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas delivers a joint statement with Philippines Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro (not pictured) on the Enhanced Partnership between the Philippines and the European Union, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center on July 24, 2026 in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. Ezra Acayan/Pool via REUTERS
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Kaja Kallas, the European Commission's foreign policy chief, right, and Ireland's Defence and Foreign Minister Helen McEntee want the quick deployment of an EU mission to support Lebanese security forces. AFP

Overview

  • The United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL is scheduled to begin a year-long drawdown and to end its mandate on December 31, 2026, creating a planned security gap in southern Lebanon.
  • The European Union is developing a military and civilian mission to advise and train the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces to strengthen state security capacity.
  • The EU plan, which Kaja Kallas discussed on Tuesday, has more than 10 member states willing to offer personnel or resources and aims for a Council decision in October with deployment late 2026 or early 2027.
  • Key constraints remain because the UN has proposed successor options of roughly 900 to 3,000 troops, some EU contributors like Ireland require a UN Security Council mandate for troop deployment, and Israel opposes certain international replacements.
  • UNIFIL has operated since 1978 with a monitoring mandate that did not allow it to disarm militias, and analysts warn that any gap or lightly staffed successor could let Israel or armed groups reshape control on the ground and worsen civilian harm and displacement.