UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council that the United Nations should retain a strategic footprint in Lebanon after the current UNIFIL mandate expires at year’s end. He said a uniformed UN presence would be essential to facilitate de-escalation, dialogue, liaison and coordination, and to support the Lebanese Armed Forces while working toward a long-term solution.
Guterres has proposed three deployment options with differing scales and capabilities. The most robust plan calls for roughly 350 UN military observers, four infantry battalions of about 750 troops each, and a reserve force of some 700 soldiers. That configuration would aim to monitor most of the Blue Line, carry out patrols as far north as the Litani River, investigate violations, coordinate closely with the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces, and physically position forces between the parties to help prevent escalation, while also supporting ceasefire monitoring and bolstering Lebanese state authority in the south.
A mid-level option would include about 285 observers, two 750-strong battalions and a 450-member reserve. It would retain limited direct monitoring of the Blue Line and capacity to probe violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, but would have reduced ability to separate hostile forces, de-escalate incidents, or provide the same degree of support to Lebanese Army operations.
The lightest model proposed features 215 unarmed military observers, two battalions of roughly 450 troops each, and a 350-member quick reaction force. This configuration would primarily observe and report, monitor portions of the Blue Line, investigate some violations and facilitate communication between parties, but would lack the capacity to interpose between forces, meaningfully de-escalate crises or deliver substantial engineering, demining, or enforcement capabilities.
A UN letter obtained by media outlets also explores creating a new international military mission to oversee a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. That approach would effectively replace the current UNIFIL framework by establishing a different mission with hundreds or thousands of troops tasked with ensuring a ceasefire holds.
The proposals assume significant enabling assets — helicopters for medevac, engineering and demining units, surveillance systems including drones and radar, and satellite imagery — noting that without such technology continuous monitoring of the full Blue Line would be impossible.
Currently, UNIFIL comprises roughly 7,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries stationed in southern Lebanon near the 120 km Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel. Despite last year’s Security Council decision to end UNIFIL, the new report does not offer an option to withdraw international forces entirely; instead it lays out alternatives for maintaining an international presence in the area.
