UNIFIL on Lebanon’s 82nd Independence Day: Army Vital for National Stability

By Staff, Agencies

As Lebanon marked its 82nd Independence Day, UNIFIL Chief Major General Diodato Abagnara stressed that the Lebanese army’s redeployment played a pivotal role in ensuring national stability.

“On Lebanon’s 82nd Independence Day, UNIFIL remains committed to supporting the Lebanon Army — our close partner in strengthening stability in the south. Their full redeployment across south Lebanon is essential for extending state authority,” he writes on X.

UNIFIL has been deployed since 1978 to separate "Israel" and Lebanon, and numbers some 10,000 personnel from almost 50 countries. In August, the UN Security Council voted to end UNIFIL’s mission in 2027.

"Israel" has long argued that the observer force has failed in its mission, doing little to block Hezbollah from building up its forces near the "Israeli" border over decades.

Under the US-brokered November 2024 ceasefire which followed Hezbollah’s retaliatory strikes after Hamas' "Al-Aqsa Flood Operation", both Hezbollah and "Israel" were meant to withdraw from southern Lebanon. UNIFIL was deployed alongside the Lebanese army, partly to monitor the truce and Hezbollah’s defensive positions.

"Israel", however, has kept troops in five “strategic” locations and continues strikes under the pretext of targeting Hezbollah, undermining the ceasefire and leaving Lebanon exposed to foreign interference.