Lebanon will press for an end to Israeli military operations at a new round of US-mediated talks on Tuesday, as Beirut seeks international security arrangements to prevent a vacuum in the country’s south if United Nations peacekeepers withdraw at the end of the year.

A Lebanese military delegation will present the country’s demands at a trilateral meeting in Tampa, Florida, on October 20, the Lebanese presidency said in a post on X on Saturday.

Aoun seeks alternative to UNIFIL if mandate ends

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Beirut on Saturday to discuss the future of the international security presence in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces and Hezbollah have repeatedly clashed.

Barrot was in Lebanon for a two-day visit focused on mechanisms to maintain an international presence in the south after the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires at the end of the year.

Aoun reiterated Beirut’s preference for extending UNIFIL’s mandate but said Lebanon would accept an alternative arrangement if an extension proved impossible.

“If this proves impossible, Lebanon welcomes any arrangement that ensures an international presence in the south, prevents a vacuum, and avoids placing the Lebanese army in direct contact with the Israeli army,” Aoun said in a statement.

UNIFIL has monitored the border area for decades and helped maintain communications and stability through repeated rounds of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Its planned departure has heightened concerns in Beirut that southern Lebanon could become more vulnerable to renewed fighting without a replacement mechanism. Lebanese officials also fear that the withdrawal could place additional pressure on the Lebanese Armed Forces, potentially leaving them in direct contact with Israeli troops.

Disarmament dispute stalls implementation

The future of the international presence in southern Lebanon is closely linked to a broader agreement intended to end hostilities and establish lasting security arrangements along the border.

Under a framework reached through US-brokered negotiations and signed in Washington on June 26, Beirut committed to disarming Hezbollah and dismantling its military infrastructure, alongside deployments by the Lebanese Armed Forces. Further Israeli withdrawals from the buffer zone held by Israeli troops in Lebanon are tied to verified progress on those measures.

Implementation has stalled, however, as Israel and Lebanon remain divided over the sequence and conditions for carrying out the agreement.

Hezbollah has refused to surrender its weapons while Israeli forces remain on Lebanese territory. Israel, meanwhile, has continued striking targets in southern Lebanon, with Lebanese officials arguing that the attacks undermine the government’s efforts to disarm the group.

Israel has maintained that the Lebanese army is not yet capable of fully assuming the security responsibilities envisaged under the agreement.

The competing positions have complicated efforts to establish a lasting arrangement along the border. Israeli troop withdrawals, Hezbollah’s weapons and the deployment of the Lebanese army remain central to the negotiations.