The United Nations will begin winding down its long-running peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, with most of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon expected to leave by mid 2027, according to mission officials and diplomatic sources.

UNIFIL, deployed in 1978 and significantly reinforced after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, has for years served as a buffer along the volatile Blue Line separating Israel from southern Lebanon. Its mandate includes monitoring the cessation of hostilities, supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces in the south, and reporting violations of UN Security Council resolutions.

The Security Council decided last year that UNIFIL’s mandate would end on December 31, 2026, instructing the mission to carry out an “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal” within the following year. Mission spokesperson Kandice Ardiel has since confirmed that UNIFIL is planning to withdraw all, or nearly all, of its uniformed personnel by mid 2027, with the process to be completed by the end of that year.

Once operations formally cease, UNIFIL will shift from active patrolling and monitoring to a narrow set of tasks focused on force protection, safeguarding UN installations, and coordinating the departure of troops and equipment. Positions and facilities along the border are to be handed over to Lebanese authorities as the mission winds down.

The drawdown comes at a delicate moment. Despite a ceasefire intended to halt more than a year of cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have continued, with Israel insisting it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. UNIFIL has documented repeated incidents of fire landing at or near its patrols and bases, underscoring the fragility of the truce.

UNIFIL currently fields about 7,500 peacekeepers from 48 countries, down from higher levels earlier in the mission. The reduction of nearly 2,000 personnel in recent months, Ardiel has said, reflects a broader UN financial crunch and cost-cutting measures rather than the political decision to end the mandate.

Lebanon’s government has pressed for some form of continued international presence in the south after UNIFIL’s departure, arguing that foreign troops, even in smaller numbers, help deter escalation. France has publicly backed the idea that the Lebanese army should assume primary responsibility in the area, while Italy has signaled it intends to maintain a military footprint in Lebanon beyond UNIFIL’s exit.