A French soldier of the multinational United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was killed in an ambush on Friday. Three others were injured, two of them seriously, in what UNIFIL and French officials called a “deliberate attack”.
“Everything shows that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote in a statement on social media. He urged Lebanese authorities to bring those responsible to justice.
Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack. The armed group is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States and Germany, while the European Union classifies only its armed wing as a terrorist group.
UN peacekeeping forces have found themselves in the middle of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The latest fighting began on March 2 when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, days after Israel and the US launched their joint attack on Iran.
Since then, Israel began incursions into parts of southern Lebanon. Nearly 2,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Lebanon.
UNIFIL’s mission in southern Lebanon is considered extremely dangerous. Several weeks earlier, six Indonesian UNIFIL soldiers were killed in three separate incidents.
What is Unifil?
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon began its mission in March 1978, following Israel’s invasion earlier that month.
According to UNIFIL, at the end of March 2026, it consisted of approximately 7,500 peacekeepers from 47 countries. The largest contributors of troops are Indonesia (755), Italy (754), Spain and India (642).
UN peacekeeping forces are deployed at dozens of bases across 1,060 square kilometers (about 410 square miles) covering the area between the internationally recognized Israeli-Lebanese border and Lebanon’s Litani River, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of the border.
UNIFIL is headquartered in the city of Nakaura.
Why is UNIFIL in Lebanon?
In 1978, the United Nations Security Council established UNIFIL to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, restore peace and security, and assist the Lebanese government in regaining authority in the area.
Since then, the mandate has been renewed on an annual basis by the Security Council.
In June 2000, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded. The United Nations established a buffer zone, the Blue Line, between Lebanon and Israel and put it under the control of UNIFIL.
While the Blue Line does not mean a current or future border between countries, unauthorized crossings are not permitted.
UNIFIL’s mission was expanded in 2006. An inconclusive war between Israel and Hezbollah ended when both sides agreed to Security Council Resolution 1701.
Resolution 1701 called for the disarmament of all armed groups near the border, including Hezbollah, the deployment of the Lebanese Army to southern Lebanon, as well as specifying that only the Lebanese Army, not Iran-backed Hezbollah militias, should have weapons in Lebanon.
Recently, the United Nations Security Council, through Resolution 2790, extended UNIFIL’s mandate in August 2025 until the end of 2026 – after which it is considered to end. From the end of 2025, troop numbers are planned to be reduced by approximately 25%. The gradual withdrawal of peacekeepers is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2027, after nearly five decades of UN presence in southern Lebanon.
What is UNIFIL actually doing?
UNIFIL mainly has a Role of supervisor. This includes patrolling by foot and vehicles between the Blue Line and the Litani River, as well as patrolling the area near the coast with its naval peacekeeping force, UNIFIL Maritime Task Force.
In case of violations of Resolution 1701, UNIFIL reports them to the United Nations Security Council.
The peacekeepers described their approach on the UNIFIL website, saying, “Whenever an incident occurs across the Blue Line, UNIFIL immediately deploys additional troops to the location if needed, to avoid direct conflict between the two sides and to ensure that there is no direct conflict between the two sides.”
They state that they also liaise with the Lebanese army and the Israeli army as non-partisan mediators to avoid any tensions.
However, peacekeepers are only permitted to use force for self-defense under certain circumstances, and only “to ensure that its area of operations is not used for hostile activities.”
Why is UNIFIL being criticized?
Israel and the United States believe that the costly UNIFIL mission has not been effective in preventing Hezbollah from moving and accumulating weapons in southern Lebanon.
In 2018, a Hezbollah tunnel was discovered that ran under the Blue Line into Israel.
Lebanese governments have repeatedly stated that UNIFIL has failed to stop Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace.
Hezbollah leaders have accused UNIFIL of spying for Israel and say its presence is violating Lebanon’s sovereignty.
This article was originally published on October 11, 2024. This was updated on March 18, 2026.
Edited by: Andreas Illmer