European contributors to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are signaling a strong intention to maintain a presence in southern Lebanon even after the current mission mandate expires, according to sources following the file. Officials say this could take place under a new operational name and the authorization of a fresh U.N. Security Council resolution.

More than 1,800 UNIFIL officers and soldiers have already left Lebanon between November and Dec. 31, 2025, according to figures cited by officials, alongside the withdrawal of two warships from Lebanese territorial waters. Those vessels were part of UNIFIL’s five-ship Maritime Task Force, which was deployed after the July 2006 war under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.

UNIFIL spokesman Dany Ghafari confirmed that further reductions are planned, with more than 300 additional troops scheduled to leave by May 2026. Speaking to Al-Modon, Ghafari said the drawdown was driven by a broader financial crisis affecting the United Nations, stressing that it was “not linked to the end of UNIFIL’s mandate by the end of 2026.”

“The financial crisis impacting the United Nations as a whole has forced peacekeeping missions to repatriate around a quarter of their troops,” Ghafari said. “This is a significant number, and we are fully aware that it will affect our ability to carry out our tasks with the same capacity and manpower as before.”

Despite the cuts, he said UNIFIL would continue to prioritize its core responsibilities, including monitoring and reporting violations of Resolution 1701, overseeing the Blue Line that separates Lebanon and Israel, and supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Officials stress that the current reductions should not be interpreted as a definitive withdrawal of UNIFIL in early 2027. The mission has been present south of the Litani River for nearly five decades, operating under Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426 adopted in March 1978 following Israel’s “Operation Litani” invasion. The current drawdown, they say, is instead the result of a 15% cut to the U.N. budget, which has affected UNIFIL’s operations in southern Lebanon.

So far, the reductions have been limited to Asian and African contingents, including units from South Korea, China, Ghana, Nepal, India and Malaysia. European forces, which form the backbone of UNIFIL in terms of manpower, command roles and equipment, have not been affected. Spanish, French and Italian contingents remain fully deployed and continue to occupy senior leadership positions within the mission.

According to sources following the file, European contributors are keen to maintain a presence in southern Lebanon even after UNIFIL’s current mandate expires, potentially under a new name and on the basis of a fresh Security Council resolution. The same sources said European units have been operating on the assumption that they will remain, pointing to recent rotations in which the Spanish contingent in the eastern sector increased its troop levels by around 100 soldiers.

Since October 2006, a total of 15 countries have participated in UNIFIL’s Maritime Task Force: Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.

At present, the naval component consists of one vessel each from Bangladesh, Germany, Greece and Turkey, as well as one Indonesian ship supported by a helicopter. Only three vessels remain in Lebanese waters following the departure of the Turkish and Greek ships.

UNIFIL data show that since maritime operations began on Oct. 15, 2006, the task force has hailed roughly 113,800 vessels and referred around 16,200 of them to Lebanese authorities for further inspection at sea or on land.