UN Offers Plans to End Mideast Conflict06/03 06:35

   The United Nations chief has proposed three options to help end the 
decades-old conflict between Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and 
Israel when the 8,100-member U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon ends 
on Dec. 31.

   UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United Nations chief has proposed three options 
to help end the decades-old conflict between Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah 
militants and Israel when the 8,100-member U.N. peacekeeping mission in 
southern Lebanon ends on Dec. 31.

   All of the options presented to the U.N. Security Council by 
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would continue U.N. military monitoring of 
the boundary between Israel and Lebanon, support Lebanese forces in deploying 
throughout the country and strengthen political efforts to end the fighting, 
which has persisted despite a nominal ceasefire.

   U.N. peacekeepers have played a significant role in monitoring the security 
situation in southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold, for decades. Six of the 
peacekeepers have been killed in recent months.

   Bowing to demands from the United States and its close ally Israel, the 
Security Council voted unanimously in August 2025 to terminate the peacekeeping 
mission known as UNFIL and asked Guterres to present options for implementing a 
2006 resolution that ended a monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah.

   The resolution demands that Hezbollah disarm, Israeli forces withdraw and 
the Lebanese army deploy throughout the country as the sole military force. 
None of this has happened.

   In his letter to the Security Council on Monday, Guterres said the recurring 
hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah show the imperative of implementing 
the 2006 resolution, which is the framework toward peace.

   The secretary-general said U.N. military monitoring of the U.N.-drawn 
boundary between Israel and Lebanon, known as the Blue Line, was "paramount."

   Under all options, he said, "a uniformed United Nations presence working to 
facilitate de-escalation, dialogue, liaison and coordination, and support for 
the Lebanese Armed Forces would be necessary." The U.N. military would 
complement the strengthened U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, who would 
continue to lead efforts to implement the 2006 resolution.

   Guterres proposed three options for the U.N. military force, ranging from 
5,525 to 1,980 personnel, including some unarmed military observers. He said 
the largest force would be able "to most credibly observe developments along 
the length of the Blue Line."

   U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Tuesday that the 
secretary-general hopes the Security Council will make a decision soon.