UN peacekeeping chief in Lebanon says smooth transition is critical before pull-out

Lebanon: The head of United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon said on Saturday it was critical to ensure other UN agencies and Lebanese troops could assume the tasks carried out by the force before it begins withdrawing at the end of this year.

Major General Diodato Abagnara of Italy spoke to Reuters in southern Lebanon at a position operated by the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, which has been monitoring hostilities in southern Lebanon for nearly 50 years.

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Since a new war erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in March, the force has also provided security escorts for humanitarian aid convoys to residents in a small cluster of predominantly Christian southern Lebanese towns now encircled by Israeli troops. Residents in much of the rest of southern Lebanon have been forcibly displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders.

The UN Security Council has ordered UNIFIL to begin withdrawing at the end of 2026, triggering concerns over whether aid deliveries can continue and how the force can transfer its positions to Lebanese troops.

"There are other United Nations entities here in the south, and so what is very important for us (is) to conduct a very smooth transition to different entities, or for the future of a new mission," Abagnara told Reuters.

He said UNIFIL was already working with the UN's country team to ensure humanitarian assistance in Israeli-occupied areas and information sharing with the Lebanese army about "sensitive areas (and) how they can manage this situation."

Abagnara acknowledged that it could be "very difficult" to hand over some of UNIFIL's posts to Lebanese troops given that more than half lie within areas now controlled by Israeli troops.

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Diplomats worry UNIFIL's departure will mean an end to the UN's "eyes and ears" in southern Lebanon.

Abagnara spoke to Reuters at a position overlooking Mansouri, a town where Israeli forces have been carrying out demolitions since ordering residents to leave in June, despite a ceasefire. Reuters reporters could see excavators in the town knocking down trees and multi-storey homes.

Abagnara described demolitions as "another violation" of UN Security Council resolutions on Lebanon. Israel's military has said it is destroying Hezbollah infrastructure across southern Lebanon.

As a US-backed plan for Lebanon's army to disarm Hezbollah and take control of southern Lebanon has stalled, a diplomatic scramble is underway to address the vacuum that will be left by UNIFIL's withdrawal.

Lebanon wants an extension. Other countries have discussed a new multinational mission, though it remains unclear what kind of mandate it would have.

Abagnara said an extension would be "a great honor" but that without a new Security Council decision, his force would need to stop operating at the end of the year.

"It's not a long time," he said. "The presence of United Nations in the South is very, very essential. And according to me, more now than ever."