Germany repeats call for EU force to replace UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Berlin warns against a ‘security vacuum’ in Lebanon’s south once UNIFIL mandate expires at year’s end.Germany has repeated calls for the European Union to send a force to Lebanon to replace United Nations Peacekeepers (UNIFIL), which are due to withdraw at the end of the year.Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told broadcaster RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland on Friday that Berlin has proposed the mission to prevent the development of a “security vacuum” in Lebanon’s south.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3What are the Israeli withdrawal ‘pilot zones’ in southern Lebanon?list 2 of 3Lebanon and Israel end sixth round of US-brokered talkslist 3 of 3‘Destroyed my whole life’: Lebanese families wiped out in Israeli attacksend of listHe said that the force is needed to allow Israel’s army to withdraw from southern Lebanon, while also preventing Hezbollah from “returning with its terror”.The Israeli military currently occupies several areas in southern Lebanon from where it has been launching strikes and operations that it says are aimed at the Iran-backed armed group, despite a ceasefire.Hezbollah, meanwhile, has continued attacks across the border into northern Israel.Amid the hostilities, pressure from the United States saw the UN Security Council agree last year to end UNIFIL’s 48-year mission.“We should examine in the EU whether ⁠we can ensure that no security vacuum arises with a European mandate following the UNIFIL mission,” Wadephul said in an interview.UNIFIL vehicles drive in the south of Lebanon on December 3, 2024 [Ed Ram/Getty Images]UNIFIL, deployed amid the first Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1978, has faced questions from all sides over its effectiveness, particularly its inability to prevent Israel’s deep advance into Lebanese territory during the war against Hezbollah.In May, Israel advanced further into Lebanese territory than at any point since it ended a nearly two-decade occupation of the country’s south in 2000.