UN Extends UNIFIL Mandate Amid Rising Tensions on Lebanon-Israel Border, Calls for Regional De-escalation

The Security Council on Wednesday extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to August 31, 2025, stressing the importance of achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2749 (2024), the Council also demanded the full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) and urged all relevant actors to implement immediate measures towards de-escalation — including those aimed at restoring calm, restraint, and stability across the Blue Line.

Further, the 15-member organ encouraged Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to ensure that the Force remains ready to adapt its activities to support de-escalation and requested continued reporting on the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) every four months.

Speaking before the vote, the representative of France — noting tensions along the Blue Line and the “real” risk of open warfare — called on Iran and the groups it supports to refrain from carrying out attacks.

As the Council has two tools with which to address the situation — UNIFIL and the framework established by resolution 1701 (2006) — France proposed a 12-month renewal of the Force’s mandate.

After the vote, the representative of the United States said that, on the morning of October 8, 2023, Hizbullah made the escalatory decision to bombard communities in northern Israel, and for the past 11 months, has done so “on nearly a daily basis.”

Expressing regret that several Council members blocked the organ from condemning Hizbullah for these repeated destabilizing actions in today’s text, he underscored that Lebanon should neither be “a haven for terrorist organisations” nor “a launchpad for attacks against Israel.”

He also pointed out that Iran provides Hizbullah with advanced weaponry — a point echoed by the United Kingdom’s representative — and said, in that context, that extending UNIFIL’s mandate supports the goal of regional de-escalation.