US envoy calls UNIFIL ‘human shield for terrorists’ on Israel-Lebanon border

Ahead of Lebanon visit, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz rips UN peacekeeping force, accusing it of shielding terrorists.

By World Israel News Staff

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz excoriated the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, accusing it of shielding terrorist organizations and announcing plans to visit Lebanon next week to push for changes to the international presence along Israel’s northern border.

Speaking at the second annual Israel Hayom Summit in New York, Waltz described the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as a “human shield for terrorists,” arguing that the mission had failed to prevent Hezbollah from establishing military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

Waltz said he intended to travel to Lebanon next week to advance the Trump administration’s efforts to overhaul the international security arrangements in the country’s south.

He criticized the financial cost of the peacekeeping force, which he said amounted to approximately $500 million annually, and accused it of failing to fulfill its responsibility to promote regional stability.

His remarks came less than two months before UNIFIL’s mandate is scheduled to expire, ending a mission that has operated in southern Lebanon for nearly five decades.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously in August 2025 to extend the force’s mandate for a final time, setting December 31, 2026, as the end of its operations and authorizing a phased withdrawal lasting up to one year.

The decision followed longstanding criticism from Israel and the United States that UNIFIL had failed to prevent Hezbollah from building up its military capabilities in violation of Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted following the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

The resolution called for an area between the Israeli border and the Litani River to be free of armed groups other than the Lebanese military and UN peacekeepers.

UNIFIL, originally established in 1978, has maintained that its role includes monitoring violations, supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces and helping prevent renewed hostilities.

Last week, the force confirmed that it would begin withdrawing at the end of December despite requests from Lebanese officials to extend its presence.

Lebanese authorities have warned that the withdrawal could create a security vacuum in the south, while Israel has argued that the international force’s continued presence has done little to prevent Hezbollah’s entrenchment.

Waltz’s comments also addressed Iran and the broader regional consequences of the US-Israeli military campaign against Tehran and its allies.

“The Iranian regime is weaker than it has ever been,” Waltz declared.

He pointed to the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, the weakening of Hezbollah and political and military developments in Lebanon as evidence that Iran’s regional influence had substantially diminished.

Waltz credited President Donald Trump with pursuing policies that had reshaped the Middle East, arguing that Washington’s willingness to confront Tehran had created new opportunities for cooperation between Israel and Arab countries.

The ambassador highlighted military coordination between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, as well as assistance provided by Arab states during Iranian attacks against Israel, as developments that would have been difficult to imagine only a few years earlier.

He also said 146 countries had condemned Iranian attacks against civilian targets at the United Nations, describing the international response as another indication of Tehran’s growing isolation.

Turning to the Abraham Accords, Waltz rejected predictions that the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries would collapse under the pressure of successive regional wars.

He recalled that critics had initially dismissed Trump’s normalization initiative as unrealistic because it sought to establish diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab countries without first resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to Waltz, the agreements have endured the October 7 attacks, the war in Gaza and the subsequent confrontation with Iran. He argued that regional cooperation was continuing to deepen rather than deteriorate.

The ambassador also praised Trump’s diplomatic efforts in Gaza, including the return of Israeli hostages and the establishment of a ceasefire.

However, he emphasized that Washington’s objectives in Gaza had not yet been fully achieved.

“Hamas must disarm. Hamas will not govern Gaza,” he said, reiterating the administration’s position that the terrorist organization must relinquish its weapons and surrender control of the territory.

Waltz credited Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with advancing the administration’s diplomatic initiatives and securing the release of hostages.

He also outlined the administration’s campaign to reform the United Nations, including reducing its budget and workforce and confronting officials accused by Washington of promoting antisemitism.

Among those singled out was Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, who has repeatedly faced criticism from Israel and the Trump administration.

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