Lebanon seeks international presence in south from French FM as peace keeper exit nears

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Saturday, saying he would welcome any effort to prevent a security vacuum in the south if UN peacekeepers withdraw as planned at the end of the year. Barrot was in Beirut for a two-day visit to discuss “mechanisms for an international presence” in the south of Lebanon— the scene of repeated conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah — after the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires. In a statement, Aoun reiterated Lebanon’s desire to extend UNIFIL’s mandate, but added, “if this proves impossible, Lebanon welcomes any arrangement that ensures an international presence in the south, prevents a vacuum, and avoids placing the Lebanese army in direct contact with the Israeli army.” Also Saturday, Lebanon said a new round of talks with Israel will be held Tuesday. A Lebanese military delegation will present Beirut’s demands for an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon at a trilateral meeting in Tampa, Florida, on October 20, the Lebanese presidency said in a post on X on Saturday. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms Lebanon and Israel have held a number of direct talks in recent months, aimed at ending hostilities since a new war erupted on March 2 between Israel ​and the Lebanese armed terror group Hezbollah, when the Iran-backed organization attacked Israel amid the wider regional conflict. Under a deal reached through US-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks, Beirut vowed to disarm Hezbollah, which would in turn lead to Israeli troops gradually withdrawing from the buffer zone they hold in Lebanon. But Hezbollah has refused to disarm as long as Israeli forces remain on Lebanese land, and Israel has continued striking southern Lebanon. Members of the Indonesian contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ride in a vehicle in Lebanon’s southern border village of Ibl al-Saqi on October 13, 2026. (Joseph EID/AFP) The framework agreement, signed in Washington on June 26, conditions further Israeli withdrawals on the verified disarmament of Hezbollah and the dismantling of its military infrastructure, alongside deployments of the Lebanese Armed Forces. Advertisement Implementation has since stalled , with the next round of US-mediated talks delayed until October; Lebanese officials have accused continued Israeli strikes of hampering Beirut’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah, while Israel has argued that the Lebanese army is not yet capable of fully assuming the security role envisioned under the agreement. 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Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 White House says Press Secretary Katie Zacharia ‘let go’ from role after 5 days 2 Hardline rabbi: Jews can take Palestinian olives to ‘demonstrate our ownership of the land’ 3 Washington Post photojournalist beaten by settlers slams Netanyahu after surgery on nearly detached finger 4 Tesla unveils new ‘flying’ car, but consumer rollout likely still years away 5 Trump says Israel has ‘been very helpful to Saudi Arabia’ amid fight against Houthis 6 Settlers beat Palestinians, US journalist in West Bank attacks: ‘They kept kicking me and kicking me’ 7 Israeli chess players say they’ve been barred from world championship in Malaysia 8 Buried, forgotten, demolished: Archaeologist searches for New York City’s lost mikvehs read more: Israel & the Region Joseph Aoun Jean-Noel Barrot France UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Hezbollah southern Lebanon If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. 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