Lebanon Requests Extension of UNIFIL Mandate without Modification

Vehicles belonging to UN peacekeepers drive along a road along the Lebanon-Israel border near the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila on September 1, 2019. (AFP)
Vehicles belonging to UN peacekeepers drive along a road along the Lebanon-Israel border near the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila on September 1, 2019. (AFP)
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Lebanon Requests Extension of UNIFIL Mandate without Modification

Vehicles belonging to UN peacekeepers drive along a road along the Lebanon-Israel border near the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila on September 1, 2019. (AFP)
Vehicles belonging to UN peacekeepers drive along a road along the Lebanon-Israel border near the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila on September 1, 2019. (AFP)

Lebanon said on Monday it wanted to extend the mandate of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) without any modifications to its mission.

President Michel Aoun delivered the request during a meeting at the Presidential Palace with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

He also noted the adoption of the UNIFIL budget on June 30, remarking that despite regional tensions, southern Lebanon has been enjoying stability since the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Aoun praised the existing cooperation between the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL, reiterating his condemnation of Israeli air violations, especially recent ones, through raids launched against Syrian territories from Lebanese airspace.

Aoun reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to the full implementation of UN resolution 1701, calling on the UN to compel Israel to also respect it.

For his part, Lacroix stressed that the UN will always stand by Lebanon, adding that UNIFIL will continue to implement resolution 1701, through the existing cooperation between the Lebanese army and international forces.

Lacroix also held talks with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab.



Qatar and Egypt See Some Progress in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

 Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 25, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Qatar and Egypt See Some Progress in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

 Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 25, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 25, 2025. (Reuters)

There has been some progress in the latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks, mediators Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement on Friday.

Suspending the negotiations to hold consultations before resuming talks is normal in the context of these complex negotiations, they said.

The ceasefire mediators affirmed their commitment to continuing their efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in Gaza in partnership with the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, both saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal.

Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling "alternative" options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave, where starvation is spreading and most of the population is homeless amid widespread ruin.

Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be "hunted down", telling reporters at the White House: "Hamas really didn't want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it's very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job."

Israel and the United States withdrew their delegations on Thursday from the ceasefire talks in Qatar, hours after Hamas submitted its response to a truce proposal.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said on Facebook that the talks had been constructive.