A Swiss military observer scans the Golan Heights, annexed by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.
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United Nations peacekeepers have come under fire, as Israel targets Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. SWI swissinfo.ch examines the role of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, and of Switzerland, in this volatile region.
What is UNIFIL?
Deployed in southern Lebanon, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is presently a 10,000-strong peacekeeping force. It was established in March 1978 by the UN Security Council following Israel’s first invasion of Lebanon, which came in response to Palestinian attacks from the country. UNIFIL’s initial mandate was to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and assist the Lebanese government in re-establishing authority in the area.
UNIFIL is primarily made up of members of national military and police services who have been seconded to work with the UN, although a small percentage are civilians. European countries contributing to UNIFIL include Italy, France, Spain and Ireland. Italy is the largest Western contributor in terms of troop numbers, with almost 900 soldiers deployed. Indonesia is the largest overall contributor of troops to the mission, with 1,231.
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How has UNIFIL’s mission evolved?
UNIFIL has faced significant challenges over the decades. Changes to its mandate have mirrored the military developments between Israel and Lebanon.
In June 1982, Israel launched a second invasion of Lebanon. This set the stage for the creation of a security zone in southern Lebanon which Israel maintained, with the support of the Christian-dominated South Lebanon Army (SLA), until 2000. The Iran-backed Hezbollah emerged in resistance to Israel’s second occupation and became a powerful political and military presence in Lebanon.
Israel announced its complete withdrawal from Lebanon in April 2000. By May, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and SLA forces had pulled out, leading the UN to establish the so-called Blue Line to verify the withdrawal, marking the end of the occupation. In October that year, the UN Security Council endorsed this development with Resolution 1310, encouraging Lebanon to strengthen its presence in the south, which was by then a Hezbollah stronghold.
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Switzerland calls on Israel to halt attacks on Unifil in Lebanon
In 2006, following a war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1701, significantly expanding UNIFIL’s mandate. This included increasing its forces to 15,000 troops, matched with an equal deployment from Lebanon, and establishing a Maritime Task Force to assist the Lebanese Navy in monitoring coastal waters and preventing unauthorised arms transfers.
What is the difference between UNIFIL and UNTSO?
UNIFIL operates within the broader framework of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), which provides military observers to support peace operations – and in which Switzerland is actively involved.
Established in 1948, UNTSO was the UN’s first peacekeeping mission. It consists of approximately 150 unarmed military observers and more than 200 civilian staff.
UNTSO observers assist UNIFIL in southern Lebanon and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and continues to occupy militarily today. Furthermore, UNTSO maintains liaison offices in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to promote dialogue and regional cooperation.
What challenges is UNIFIL currently facing?
UNIFIL has endured more than 20 attacks in southern Lebanon since the beginning of October, when Israel launched its ground offensive in the country with the aim of destroying Hezbollah. The militant group and Israel have been exchanging cross-border fire since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
On October 29, a rocket that was likely fired by Hezbollah or an affiliate group struck UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, in southern Lebanon. Eight peacekeepers, all Austrian soldiers, sustained minor and superficial injuries when the rocket hit a vehicle workshop, causing a fire.
The Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon has repeatedly put UN peacekeepers in harm’s way. On November 7, six Malaysian peacekeepers were wounded by a deadly Israeli drone strike as they crossed a checkpoint on a UN bus. Three people were killed in a nearby car. The next day UNIFIL said IDF soldiers had used excavators and bulldozers to destroy a fence and a concrete structure at one of its peacekeeping points.
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UNIFIL regards such actions as deliberate. In October, it accused Israeli forces of violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701External link, which outlined the end of earlier hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. UNIFIL pointed to the multiple incidents in which Israeli strikes have targeted its personnel, resulting in injuries and disrupting operations and damaging infrastructure.
Israel rejects accusations that it is deliberately targeting UN peacekeepers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saidExternal link in a video statement on October 14 that UNIFIL should “temporarily get out of harm’s way”. The IDF, according to UNIFIL, has also repeatedly demanded that the UN mission “vacate its positions along the Blue Line and has deliberately damaged UN positions”.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned last month that attacks on UNFIL “may constitute a war crime”. The peacekeeping mission states that it plans to stay put, despite the pressure being exerted on it and on troop-contributing countries.
What is Switzerland’s role in UN peacekeeping?
Switzerland does not directly participate in the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon or the UNDOF mission in the Golan Heights. Daniel Seckler, chief of communications at SWISSINT, the Swiss Armed Forces International Command, clarified this in an email to SWI swissinfo.ch: “UNTSO/ONUST is the only mission in the Middle East where Swiss military personnel are deployed.”
SWISSINT is tasked with executing Switzerland’s peacekeeping mission abroad, as outlined in the Federal Constitution and Military Act. This mission is one of the three core responsibilities of the Swiss Armed Forces.
Switzerland has been sending unarmed military observers and liaison officers to UN peacekeeping operations around the world since 1990. Currently almost 300 men and women – ranging in rank from private to major general – are contributing to such missions, in 18 countries.
Switzerland has military personnel stationed in the following locations as part of UNTSO: Israel (three members of staff, including the head of mission), Syria (six), Lebanon (three), and Egypt (one). No Swiss personnel are deployed in Jordan, although it is part of UNTSO’s area of operations.
Switzerland’s contribution to UNTSO reached a milestone in October 2021, when Guterres appointed Swiss Major General Patrick Gauchat as the head of mission for UNTSO. This marked the first time a Swiss officer has commanded a UN peacekeeping mission.
>> Watch our video with the Swiss head of UNTSO on the challenges of monitoring a ceasefire in the Middle East.
Edited by Lindsey Johnstone/ds/livm
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