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UN PhotoGENEVA / UNIFIL SPOKESPERSON INTERVIEW
STORY: GENEVA / UNIFIL SPOKESPERSON INTERVIEW
TRT: 6:00
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 26 AUGUST 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
UNIFIL - JUNE AND JULY, UNP 4-34 HALTA AND EL MERI VILLAGE
1.Various shots, UNIFIL Vehicle patrols with the Lebanese Army
26 AUGUST 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“The renewal comes after a long crisis and a 15-month-long conflict that has devastated the region, the south of Lebanon, that has destroyed most of the areas close to the blue line, and we stayed. So our presence has been important now to try to bring back stability. So this renewal is important because it would show also the importance of maintaining a peacekeeping operation at the moment in the south of Lebanon, not to create a vacuum at the moment when the people of the south are in much need of international presence, monitoring capabilities, assisting the Lebanese army in their full deployment in the south of Lebanon. That's what we have been doing from the very beginning, mind in the last several months since November, after the cessation of hostilities arrangements, the LAF has brought more troops to the south, and we have been working with them in being deployed in all these positions, although the real challenge at the moment is that we still have IDF positions present in the south of the country.”
UNIFIL - JUNE AND JULY, UNP 4-34 HALTA AND EL MERI VILLAGE
3. Various shots, UNIFIL Vehicle patrols with the Lebanese Army
26 AUGUST 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“The commitment of the Lebanese government is there, but how can they be deployed everywhere in the south if the IDF are still present in the south? So these are the things that are very difficult to comprehend, that if you want the full deployment of the Lebanese army, you also have to withdraw to your positions. The presence of IDF in the south is a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, and is a violation of 1701. So this can be done, but there needs to be commitment from both sides. So you can be deployed, you can assist the deployment of the army, but you need also to withdraw from the south of Lebanon, but also to stop all the military activities that they're still conducting on a daily basis in the region, in the south, and also in the north of the country. So again, Lebanese army fully committed, they are working really hard to try to bring troops in the south, and also the Lebanese authorities fully committed.”
UNIFIL - 13 AUGUST 2025, ALMA SHA'B VILLAG
5. Various shots, UNIFIL peacekeepers patrols with the Lebanese Army
26 AUGUST 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“We have been witnessing, and at the moment monitoring, a very fragile stability. The situation is much better than before, but very, very fragile. Anything can jeopardize the situation in the south. A lack of renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate would create a real vacuum, a vacuum for stability of the region. This has been emphasized by the whole international community, but most, the majority of the international community and the Lebanese authorities that strongly have asked for UNIFIL to be renewed and for peacekeepers to stay, because the Lebanese army, as we said earlier, they don't have the capacities and capabilities right now to be fully deployed. Not because they don't want to, but because there are financial implications and crisis in the country, and they need to be supported not only by UNIFIL for capacities and capabilities, but the international community financially, in order to have a sustainable presence and to bring state authority to the South. In order to do that, you need to have an international community that can support the mission of the LAF. So without would be very difficult to operate, it would create a very dangerous precedent and dangerous situation for the stability of the country. And of course, it will be very difficult to have anyone monitoring and reporting impartially to the international community.”
UNIFIL - 13 AUGUST 2025, ALMA SHA'B VILLAG
7. Various shots, UNIFIL peacekeepers patrols with the Lebanese Army
26 AUGUST 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“UNIFIL is prepared to work with whatever capacities and capabilities we will be left with, or the capacity we have right now. So, we are ready for different scenarios.”
UNIFIL - 13 AUGUST 2025, ALMA SHA'B VILLAG
9. Various shots, UNIFIL peacekeepers patrols with the Lebanese Army
26 AUGUST 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“The population has been suffering a lot in the last couple of years, and the mission is doing whatever they can to bring support to the local population with projects, starting with removing rubbles, clearing areas from landmines and unexploded ordinances, medical activities educational projects, rebuilding infrastructures.”
UNIFIL – 08 AUGUST 2025, BETWEEN UNP 7-2 AND UNP 4-28 CROSSING AIN-ARAB AND EL MERI VILLAGE
11. Various shots, UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army on patrol together, Spanish patrols in Sector East
26 AUGUST 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“The goal and goal of the mission has always been going away, moving, and hand over all our capabilities and tasks to the Lebanese army, to the Lebanese authorities on the ground and at sea. Is now the right moment? I don't think so. There is still a lot that needs to be done. The work needs to be completed, we are in the process of doing it, and to have full stability, it's important to be more pragmatic on the timetable for the mission, and also for the Lebanese army to be fully deployed in south of Lebanon.”
UNIFIL – 08 AUGUST 2025, BETWEEN UNP 7-2 AND UNP 4-28 CROSSING AIN-ARAB AND EL MERI VILLAGE
13. Various shots, UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army on patrol together, Spanish patrols in Sector East
Following a devastating 15-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants focused on southern Lebanon, the November 2024 cessation of hostilities created a fragile calm along the Blue Line separating the two countries.
As members of the UN Security Council negotiate the renewal of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ahead of a 31 August deadline, the mission’s future role and capacity are under intense debate.
UNIFIL has long been a stabilising presence in southern Lebanon, working alongside the Lebanese armed forces, mediating between parties, and supporting local communities.
Its mandate is to implement Security Council resolution 1701, which brought an end to the 2006 hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah militants.
Yet challenges remain, from Israeli military positions inside Lebanon to Hezbollah’s arsenal and the broader question of how resolution 1701 – which calls for a complete end to hostilities – can be fully implemented.
According to media reports, last-ditch negotiations are underway over the mission’s future, with some diplomats warning of risks to border stability and others voicing tepid support or pressing for full withdrawal.
In an interview, the Spokesperson for UNIFIL Andrea Tenenti discussed the mission’s effectiveness, the risks of a non-renewal, and what is at stake for Lebanon, Israel, and regional stability. He spoke from Beirut via a video link.
Tenenti reiterated that the renewal is important for maintaining a peacekeeping operation in the south of Lebanon, “not to create a vacuum at the moment when the people of the south are in much need of international presence, monitoring capabilities, assisting the Lebanese army in their full deployment in the south of Lebanon.”
The Spokesperson also said, “the presence of IDF in the south is a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, and is a violation of 1701,” adding that “there needs to be commitment from both sides.”
Tenenti stressed that the situation is “very fragile” - “anything can jeopardize the situation in the south.”
The Spokesperson also highlighted, “UNIFIL is prepared to work with whatever capacities and capabilities we will be left with, or the capacity we have right now. So, we are ready for different scenarios.”
“The population has been suffering a lot in the last couple of years, and the mission is doing whatever they can to bring support to the local population with projects, starting with removing rubbles, clearing areas from landmines and unexploded ordinances, medical activities educational projects, rebuilding infrastructures," Tenenti said.
Asked about the future of the Mission, he explained that the goal has always been "going away, moving, and hand over its capabilities and tasks to the Lebanese army." However, Tenenti stressed that it is not the moment.
The Spokesperson explained that there is still a lot that needs to be done. “We are in the process of doing it, and to have full stability, it's important to be more pragmatic on the timetable for the mission, and also for the Lebanese army to be fully deployed in south of Lebanon,” he concluded.
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