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EU Lays Groundwork to Keep its Forces in Lebanon after UNIFIL Term Ends

A UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon. (UNIFIL)
A UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon. (UNIFIL)
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EU Lays Groundwork to Keep its Forces in Lebanon after UNIFIL Term Ends

A UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon. (UNIFIL)
A UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon. (UNIFIL)

The European Union is continuing to fulfill its commitments to support Lebanon’s military and security institutions after the end of UNIFIL’s mandate by establishing a new mission to provide training and advice to the Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces.

The mission will not replace the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), but will help “strengthen state sovereignty and extend its authority” across Lebanese territory.

Speaking in Beirut on Thursday, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission, announced plans for a new EU mission to provide training and advice to the Lebanese army.

She said she expects EU foreign ministers on Monday to formally establish the mission, which will make a key contribution to Lebanon’s security.

The mission will provide advice and assistance to the Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces to strengthen their authority across Lebanon, secure its borders and bolster internal security.

All of this will be in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Kallas said, adding that the mission will not replace UNIFIL and will not focus exclusively on southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL’s mandate is nearing its end. European countries are among its leading supporters and troop contributors, notably France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Ireland.

As the mandate’s expiration approaches, a proposal to establish a European replacement force with the same responsibilities has faced US and Israeli opposition, stalling the initiative.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (R) meets with Kaja Kallas (L), the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, at the Government Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 October 2026. (EPA)

Multiple roles

Through the new mission, the EU is continuing its commitment to support Lebanon’s armed forces and enable the Lebanese state to fulfill its pledges, particularly maintaining internal stability and implementing its decisions to establish a state monopoly on weapons and extend control across its territory exclusively through its legitimate forces.

A Lebanese ministerial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the mission “is not linked to UNIFIL or any other mission.”

“Its role is not military, and it will not take over UNIFIL’s responsibilities. Its role will be logistical and will include training Lebanese military forces, alongside social, health and education activities, meaning it will have more than one role,” the source said.

It added that the European mission’s task would be to “strengthen state sovereignty, extend its authority and enable Lebanese security agencies to deploy and carry out their duties.” That role can be inferred from Kallas’s statement that the mission would align with Security Council Resolution 1701, which provides its political framework.

The EU has allocated 505 million euros to Lebanon for 2026 and 2027, the second part of a 1-billion-euro package announced in 2024, to support economic recovery, reforms, security and essential services.

European assistance to the army through the European Peace Facility has totaled 182 million euros since 2022.

The EU has expressed its readiness to provide Lebanon with the assistance it needs, particularly for the army, Internal Security Forces, and social and humanitarian institutions. It also supports the Lebanese state’s decisions to establish full control over its territory and move ahead with disarming Hezbollah.

Alongside this role, the EU is pushing to extend UNIFIL’s mandate to avoid a security vacuum after the international mission leaves.

UNIFIL has played an important role for almost 50 years. A continued UN presence in Southern Lebanon is under discussion, and the EU remain ready to work with Lebanon, the UN, and the Security Council members on what comes next, Kallas said in Beirut.

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Arab World

Israel Demolishes Gunmen’s Homes in West Bank Operation That Has Displaced Thousands

Smoke, dust and debris rise as the Israeli army demolishes two houses with explosives in connection with an Oct. 23 shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP)
Smoke, dust and debris rise as the Israeli army demolishes two houses with explosives in connection with an Oct. 23 shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP)
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Israel Demolishes Gunmen’s Homes in West Bank Operation That Has Displaced Thousands

Smoke, dust and debris rise as the Israeli army demolishes two houses with explosives in connection with an Oct. 23 shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP)
Smoke, dust and debris rise as the Israeli army demolishes two houses with explosives in connection with an Oct. 23 shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP)

Israel demolished on Friday the homes ‌of the assailants who killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron last week, part of an ongoing operation that has forcibly displaced over 3,000 Palestinians.

After the October 23 attack, in which both gunmen were killed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to launch a large-scale operation in areas near the checkpoint, triggering protests by Palestinian residents.

Palestinian officials have accused Netanyahu of using the operation to drum up support ahead of a general election in Israel on Tuesday. Israel's government says its operation is a response to the attack ‌on its soldiers.

In ‌a statement announcing the demolitions, Israel's military said it ‌would "continue ⁠to operate proactively ⁠and offensively" to thwart attacks in the West Bank and "protect residents in the area".

The homes demolished on Friday had been occupied by the wives and children of the gunmen before the military forced Palestinians to leave the area over the past week, according to local residents.

The military has also demolished other homes as well as shops, roads, and factories in Hebron since ⁠the attack, according to local officials, though the exact ‌scale of the demolitions is unclear.

It has ‌closed most entrances to the city, severely curtailing freedom of movement for Palestinians, including people ‌in need of medical attention.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk ‌said this week that the displacement of residents raised "grave concerns of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force" and that "threats to empty and erase entire neighborhoods also raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing."

Netanyahu's government has presided over a rapid expansion of settlements, deemed ‌illegal by UN bodies and most countries, though Israel disputes this.

Under Netanyahu's right-wing coalition there has also ⁠been a surge of ⁠militant settler violence against Palestinians.

In Kafr Malik near Ramallah on Friday, Reuters witnesses documented militant Israeli settlers shoving Palestinians and preventing farmers from harvesting their olives, while the Israeli military was present.

The Israeli military said it had responded to reports from Israeli settlers that Palestinians were throwing stones at them, and had arrested two Palestinians.

It did not address the reports of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians. A Reuters witness present during the incident did not observe the Palestinians throwing stones.

Attacks have surged during the Palestinian olive harvest, which starts at the end of September and ends in November. The Israeli rights group Yesh Din reported at least 135 physical attacks on the olive harvest as of October 23.

Arab World

First Algerian Troops Arrive in Niger Where Extremists Threaten Stability

Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority. (Getty Images)
Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority. (Getty Images)
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First Algerian Troops Arrive in Niger Where Extremists Threaten Stability

Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority. (Getty Images)
Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority. (Getty Images)

An Algerian army ‌convoy has arrived in Niger in Algeria's first foreign troop deployment since it sent forces to support Egypt during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

Niger, like other countries in West Africa's Sahel region, is battling insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority.

⁠Energy is an ⁠important focus for Algeria in Niger, where Algerian state-run oil and gas firm Sonatrach has investments.

One major project, the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline with Niger and Nigeria, aims to deliver African gas to Europe ⁠and other international markets.

Reuters spoke ‌to 10 people ‌who said the first Algerian military convoy had ‌reached Arlit, a uranium mining town ‌in the country's northwest.

Algeria has said the decision to deploy troops was taken to protect the country's energy and economic interests, without disclosing ‌the size of the force or the timetable for their arrival.

Military ⁠officers ⁠have ruled Niger, which has uranium, oil and gold resources, since the July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, which Algeria initially opposed.

Arab World

Houthis Suspected of Recruiting Children, Young Men Amid Surge in Disappearances in Sanaa

Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)
Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)
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Houthis Suspected of Recruiting Children, Young Men Amid Surge in Disappearances in Sanaa

Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)
Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)

Disappearances of children and young men have surged in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa and its outskirts in recent weeks, fueling accusations that the Houthis are luring them into military camps, training them for combat and sending them to battlefronts without their families' knowledge or consent.

The cases have also raised fears among families of possible extortion, as authorities face accusations of failing to investigate the disappearances or disclose the fate of those missing.

Local human rights sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the unexplained disappearances have left residents increasingly alarmed, with children and young men vanishing from schools, streets and residential neighborhoods, sometimes without a trace.

Families have been left to search for their missing relatives on their own, turning to social media to appeal for information as Houthi-controlled security authorities ignore their reports, the sources said.

About 13 children and young men have disappeared from different parts of Sanaa since the start of October, the sources said. Most were aged between 15 and 23, and some were later found at Houthi military camps or on battlefronts after being lured into combat training without their families' knowledge or approval.

Hundreds of disappearances involving children and young men have been reported in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled cities since the beginning of the year, the sources said. Some families remain in the dark about their missing relatives' whereabouts.

The sources accused Houthi security authorities of ignoring families' reports and appeals, compounding their distress and leaving those missing vulnerable to exploitation and recruitment.

The latest cases, reported over the past two days, involve Amjad Noman al-Sarouhi, 16, who vanished from the al-Ansi neighborhood in central Sanaa's Maeen district, and Mukhtar Abdullah Hassan al-Rifai, 22, who went missing near the Haziz market on the capital's outskirts.

Lured into military camps

Families' accounts have deepened fears that disappearances are being used to funnel children and young men into Houthi military camps, amid accusations that Houthi supervisors and recruitment brokers are exploiting their social and economic hardships to draw them into combat.

In one case, a family spent five days searching neighborhoods and hospitals for a minor who disappeared from Sanaa two months ago, only to learn from a Houthi supervisor that he was at a military camp north of the city.

A relative told Asharq Al-Awsat that the supervisor confirmed Houthi members had lured the boy into the camp and put him through combat training without his family's knowledge.

The relative described five days of fear and anguish as the family searched for the boy, worried he might have been harmed, before discovering he had been taken to a Houthi camp and subjected to military training without their consent.

For Mujeeb, a Sanaa resident and father of four, the disappearances have turned even routine outings into a source of fear.

"We live in constant fear for our children. We no longer feel at ease even when one of them steps out to run a simple errand," he said.

"We fear a Houthi member or supervisor could lure them away or exploit their needs and difficult living conditions, leaving us facing a situation we are powerless to change."

Mujeeb said families wanted their children kept safe and allowed to pursue their education and lead normal lives, free from recruitment and being sent to battlefronts.