BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese prime minister on Friday told a visiting U.N. delegation that his country will need a follow-up force in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel to fill the vacuum once the U.N. peacekeepers’ term expires by the end of next year.

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously in August to terminate the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, at the end of 2026 — nearly five decades after the force was deployed. The multinational force has played a significant role in monitoring the security situation in the region, including during the Israel-Hezbollah war last year.

But it has drawn criticism from officials in President Donald Trump’s administration, which has moved to slash U.S. funding for the operation as Trump remakes America’s app

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