UNIFIL says Israeli violations continue daily in south Lebanon as its 48-year mission prepares to leave

UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon say the situation on the ground remains “volatile and extremely difficult” even though hostilities have fallen sharply since an agreement reached in June between the United States, Lebanon and Israel. The assessment comes from Kandice Ardiel, spokesperson for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), who spoke to UN News from the mission’s base in Naqoura on 11 November.

Daily violations and a patrol under fire

Ardiel said UNIFIL continues to record violations by Israeli forces every day across southern Lebanon. She listed the construction of military positions and roads, military operations, demolitions, airstrikes and artillery fire.

On Tuesday, she added, a routine UNIFIL patrol near Wadi Jilu was fired upon. The peacekeepers returned fire, the shooting stopped and no injuries were reported. The mission has asked the Lebanese government to open a prompt investigation. The source of the fire was not stated in the UN account.

Displaced families are coming home to damaged villages

According to the latest UN data cited in the report, the number of displaced people who have returned home has risen by 13 per cent since September and is now close to one million. Around 304,500 people remain displaced outside their home areas.

“We’re seeing kids going back to school. We’re seeing farmers trying to harvest their crops, particularly olive crops,” Ardiel said, adding that they are returning to a very difficult situation. Many villages are badly damaged, she explained, and electricity networks, water systems and roads will have to be rebuilt.

The end of a 48-year mandate

The Security Council established UNIFIL on 19 March 1978, and its first peacekeepers arrived on 23 March of that year. Its tasks were to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, to restore international peace and security and to help the Lebanese government re-establish its authority in the area. In August 2025 the Council voted unanimously not to renew the mandate beyond the end of 2026, and preparations for the withdrawal are expected to begin in January 2027. For the background, see our UNIFIL timeline: from 1978 to the end of the mandate in 2026.

Ardiel said the Security Council is weighing options for what might follow, but that “nothing has been decided”, a gap that has left local people uncertain. The UN’s peacekeeping chief has already warned of a possible gap after the departure of the blue helmets; we covered that in UN peacekeeping chief warns of a “security vacuum” as UNIFIL in Lebanon and MINURSO in Western Sahara wind down.

The withdrawal will also affect people who work for the mission. Ardiel said the transition is especially hard for Lebanese national staff, many of whom have lost homes or relatives during the conflict, and that UNIFIL also contributes to the local economy in the south. She stressed the importance of keeping an international presence in the area, arguing that impartial monitoring has played a crucial role over the years.

Source: UN News, 11 November 2026.