With Resolution 2790, the UN Security Council has decided to put an end to the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon. The mandate has been extended until 31 December 2026, after which, within a year, all troops will be withdrawn and the mission will officially come to an end.

This marks the end of a peacekeeping mission that began on a very small scale in 1978 and was then expanded to its current configuration after the end of the war between Israel and Lebanon in 2006. The decision to end the mission was made as a result of pressure from the Trump administration, which considers the mission unnecessary, while Italy and France would have liked to continue and even strengthen UNIFIL's mandate.

In our opinion, this is a short-sighted decision that does not take into account the complexity of the Lebanese reality, where, in some ways, UNIFIL has always represented a third-party reference point for all the actors involved and local communities, as well as a valuable channel of communication. Lebanon therefore finds itself in a very complicated and decidedly less predictable situation.

Hezbollah, weaker than ever before, does not accept the disarmament plan approved by the government, which, however, does not have the strength to impose its decision to the Party of God. In all this, Israel continues to maintain five advanced operating bases in Lebanon, permanently manned, and two buffer zones, and some Maronite factions would like Israel itself to definitively disarm Hezbollah. In short, Lebanon is once again on the brink of the abyss.

The LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) need support, and the Lebanese Government and President Joseph Aoun need to be shored up. It would be wise to consider a mission of political-strategic assistance for nation/institution building.

Italy, France, and other European stakeholders would have the capabilities and the means to do it autonomously (either alone, or in coalition). It could also represent an opportunity for the EU to boost its political role in foreign politics. Time is running out, and Lebanon is very important to several European countries, much more than is commonly thought.

(The photo shows the JTF-L SW's VTLM LINCE convoy, which an FW MAG correspondent used to travel to southern Lebanon during our visit at the end of June).

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