The Security Council voted Thursday for UN peacekeepers to leave Lebanon in 2027, allowing one final extension after pressure from Israel and its US ally to end the nearly 50-year-old force.

Israel hailed the termination of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and urged the Beirut government to exert its authority after an Israeli military campaign devastated Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

With the United States dangling a veto threat, the Security Council voted unanimously for a resolution that will extend UNIFIL's mandate "a final time."

France, which has a long legacy in Lebanon, had initially sought a one-year extension to the force without a firm commitment to end UNIFIL.

But faced with the US opposition, France put forward the compromise resolution that authori

See Full Page