Andrea Tenenti
Interview conducted by Marlene Khalife
After nearly two decades at the heart of one of the world’s most sensitive peacekeeping operations, Andrea Tenenti, the long-serving spokesperson of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), has bid farewell to the mission he helped define.
Having served for 19 years under eight different force commanders, Tenenti leaves Lebanon at the end of August, returning this Sunday to his native Italy.
“It was October 2006 when I arrived—immediately after the war between Israel and Lebanon,” he recalled in a farewell conversation. Since then, he has been a witness to both the fragile stability of southern Lebanon and the persistent challenges facing the UN mission tasked with upholding Security Council Resolution 1701.
Tenenti has long warned against the perils of a sudden withdrawal of peacekeepers. “This vacuum could be very dangerous,” he stressed. “If all of a sudden there are no more peacekeepers, no more international community capable and able to provide monitoring capabilities and reporting to the Security Council… a vacuum could potentially create issues for the security and stability of the region.”
At stake is not only the delicate balance along Lebanon’s southern frontier, but also the future of thousands of displaced civilians, the reconstruction of war-ravaged communities, and the broader stability of the Middle East. With the Security Council mandating UNIFIL’s continued presence until December 2026, the question looms whether this deadline is realistic.
“The IDF are still present in the south,” Tenenti pointed out. “They’re still occupying Lebanese land in five different positions. If they don’t withdraw, it’s impossible for the Lebanese army to be deployed. If you want the Lebanese army to be deployed, if you want to meet the deadline, the IDF needs to withdraw. Otherwise, 1701 is being violated and Lebanese sovereignty undermined.”
Yet, even as he prepares to depart, Tenenti acknowledges that the volatile geopolitics of the region could still reshape UNIFIL’s mandate. “At the moment, the situation is that the mission will leave by the end of 2026,” he explained. “But there is also a paragraph in the new resolution that gives the Secretary General the authority to look at options for continuing to implement 1701. So we need to see. This is a very interesting region and a lot can change at the last moment.”
*Marlene Khalife:How many years did you serve in Lebanon, and under how many UNIFIL commanders did you work?
-Andrea Tenenti: I’ve been working for the mission in the south of Lebanon, UNIFIL, for 19 years. I arrived in October 2006, so immediately after the war between Israel and Israel.
And I’ve been working for 8 force commanders, including the last one. So a large number of force commanders and I’ve seen a large number of people coming and going from UNIFIL.
*Marlene Khalife: Could you share the most significant challenges you encountered during your time in Lebanon—particularly during the recent war, when UNIFIL was directly targeted by Israeli strikes? How did you handle that situation as the Mission’s spokesperson?
-Andrea Tenenti: Definitely the most challenging period. There have been several challenging moments. Some of the moments that are not too known, but a lot of moments that the mission was able to create conflict through negotiations.
But definitely the most challenging has been after October 2023, when the mission went through a lot of difficulties. Because it has been not only attacked, but it was impossible to carry out our mandate thoroughly. We were trying to monitor the situation on the ground.
We were trying to assist the local populations. We were trying to report to New York. We were trying to be in the field and trying to prevent further escalations.
This has been very challenging, especially the last period, when our contingents spent most of their time inside bunkers. But at the same time, staying in the country without leaving the south of Lebanon. This was the most important thing for the mission, is not to leave the south and to be present. And to show that there was still an international organization present in the south reporting to the international community.
Difficult was to be able to convey the message to the media and to show what was happening. Because the media was not allowed to go to the south of Lebanon. The media was not allowed to be even closer to the blue line. We lost several journalists. This has been probably one of the most dramatic moments, even for me.
Not to be able to do whatever we could to protect the media coming to the south. The only thing we could do is to inform the parties when media was coming to these areas in order to ensure their safety. But this was very challenging because not having a presence for journalists in the south would in a way hamper the possibility for media to report transparently what was happening.
So I did whatever I could for 24-7 every day for all the period in order to provide whatever information we could to the media transparently. And also calling on the parties to use restraint. But also calling some of the parties, like when the Israelis attacked us, to show to the international community that the mission was prevented from carrying out their activities.
*Marlene Khalife:Andrea, did you live the same experience in 2006?
-Andrea Tenenti: In 2006 it was very different. When I arrived it was immediately after the conflict. And it was a time when there was a lot of hope.
A lot of countries were willing to participate in UNIFIL. There was a large number of contingents from different countries that immediately arrived to the south of Lebanon. There was hope that the parties would be committed to 1701.
A lot of things changed. There was a lot of support to the local communities. So there was a movement forward.
We also had a very important forum that unfortunately we don’t have anymore, which is the Tripartite Forum, which is the most important confidence-building mechanism. We had over 150 meetings during that period. From 2006 until the conflict in October, the south of Lebanon witnessed one of its greatest periods in recent history.
So let’s not forget that a lot of things were prevented. So we only know what happened. We only know about the negative things that happened in the south.
But we don’t know that a lot of misunderstandings were prevented by continuous communication with the parties, from the force commander, but also through tripartite meetings. So a lot was done during that period. So it was a completely different period than the situation we are living right now.
*Marlene Khalife: I have three questions on the UNIFIL.The first, How did UNIFIL adapt to the political changes in southern Lebanon—especially in the aftermath of the 2006 war, and then again following the most recent conflict, up until today?
–Andrea Tenenti: In 2006 the adaptation was very quick, because there was a real strong interest from Lebanon, from the parties, from the international community, to ensure that the region would have stability and we could move forward towards a permanent ceasefire.
There was the hope that we were still living in a cessation of hostilities. So the political situation for the mission and the military situation changed a lot, because for the first time we had the Lebanese army in the south of Lebanon, that we didn’t have it before 2006. In 2006, as I said, we had this confidence-building mechanism, with a meeting between Lebanon and Israel on a monthly basis.
Something never happened before. We had over 10,000 troops, almost 13,000 troops, deployed all around the (…) operations to support the local populations. So UNIFIL actually became the second job provider in the south.
So not only in terms of providing security, but also providing economic support to the south. So a lot of things have changed in the period. And the situation right now is different.
After the new resolutions were adopted, that has given the mission the last opportunity to be present in the south will be very challenging, because the deadlines that were given to the missions, I don’t know if they are really realistic. It’s important for the mission and for the international community to assist the Lebanese army in their full deployment in the south of Lebanon. And the Lebanese army is an amazing army, fully committed, and they’re working and they’re doing whatever they can to be fully deployed in the south.
But in order to be fully deployed in the south, you need to have the capacities and capabilities, and also financial support from the international community. How can you deploy if there is no financial support? So the Lebanese army is ready to do that. They have been deployed in many positions.
They will reach probably 10,000 troops by the end of the year. But the full deployment has to be sustainable. And the full deployment needs to be linked to the withdrawal of the IDF from the south.
So the IDF are still present in the south. They’re still occupying Lebanese land in five different positions. And if they don’t withdraw from the south, it’s impossible for the Lebanese army to be deployed.
So if you want the Lebanese army to be deployed, if you want to meet the deadline that the Security Council has given until December 2026, the IDF needs to withdraw. They need to leave the south of Lebanon, which is a violation of 1701, and a violation of Lebanese sovereignty.
*Marlene Khalife: UNIFIL has often been accused of serving the interests of its contributing countries by providing information that allegedly benefits Israel. How do you respond to these accusations?
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–Andrea Tenenti: Well, it’s interesting because we have been accused by both. We have been accused by the Lebanese side to be, or some sides, not everyone, to be pro-Israeli and doing the work for Israel.
And Israel, we have been accused. And that’s the reason also why a lot of things are happening these days with the new resolution to be pro-Hezbollah or to be more on the Lebanese side because we have not done anything to disarm Hezbollah. But I think the real problem is that there is a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunication and also misinformation, I would say, because the UNIFIL is not supposed to disarm Hezbollah.
We are supposed to assist the Lebanese army in doing so. So we have been accused by both sides. And usually, as a referee, it shows that we have been impartial in trying to do whatever we could in assisting the parties in the implementation of the mandate.
So implementing the mandate is not with UNIFIL, but it’s with the parties. If the parties are not committed, it’s very difficult for the implementation of such a resolution.
*Marlene Khalife: The UN Security Council recently renewed UNIFIL’s mandate until December 31, 2026. What does this extension mean for the future of a mission that many believe is nearing its end? And how did you personally feel about that decision?
–Andrea Tenenti: Well, my personal feeling that maybe I can’t right now express is that the mission has been going through a lot of challenges. And again, the international community of the mission can work and can assist the party in the implementation of their mandate only if the parties are willing to assist them. This last resolution is giving the mission 16 months to implement, to assist the party in the implementation of the mandate.
But are these 16 months realistic? Is this resolution pragmatic in terms of will we be able, will the international community assist the Lebanese army to be fully deployed?
Again, as we said earlier, it can be fully deployed, but also the IDF needs to withdraw from their positions. We need to bring back the populations to all the areas that they’ve left during the conflict. We still have hundreds of thousands of people that are not back in the south of Lebanon in their own positions.
We need to bring them back there. Will this be possible? So implementation needs time, and the Middle East, we have seen, needs time to process certain policies. And the mission before 2006, after 2006 until 2023, we were moving forward slowly, but we were moving forward.
There was an achievement, there was stability, or at least some kind of stability in the south. So it needs time now for the left to be fully deployed, and it needs time also for the people to go back to their villages. It needs time for reconstructions.
So realistically, I don’t know how that will be possible to do everything by December 2026.
*Marlene Khalife: How is UNIFIL planning to gradually transfer its responsibilities to the Lebanese authorities? Are there specific timelines in place?
-Andrea Tenenti: Well, the timeline is the timeline that was imposed by the resolution, by the extension.
The resolution that has been extended until the 31st of December 2026. So these are the deadlines. What we are doing is what we have been doing until today.
There has been a lot of work that UNIFIL has done in order to provide… In order to ensure that the Lebanese army had the proper capacities and capabilities to be deployed and redeployed in the south of Lebanon. So there is a lot of training, a lot of joint activities that we are doing together in order to provide them with this support needed. At the same time, we are with them in moving in all the positions that they have left during the conflict and are occupying right now in the south of Lebanon.
At the same time, we are also assisting, because the other work of the Lebanese army right now is also to ensure that there are no unauthorized weapons in the south of Lebanon. And that’s what we have been doing together with them, to recover unauthorized weapons. As I said, UNIFIL is not in charge of disarming the south, but we are supporting the left to do so.
And we will continue this until the end of our mandate or our role in the south of Lebanon.
*Marlene Khalife: Is there any chance to extend the mandate again after 2026?
–Andrea Tenenti: This is a very interesting region and a lot of things have changed at the last moment. At the moment, the situation is that the mission will leave by the end of 2026, but the geopolitics in the region has changed a lot in the last couple of years.
And there is also a paragraph in the new resolution that gives the Secretary General the authority of looking at options for continuing to implement 1701. So we need to see. At the moment, it is December 2026, and we need to see what will happen during this period, if there will be a need to reassess the situation or not.
But at the moment, that’s all we have. As I said, it’s important, if we leave, that the Lebanese army needs to be fully redeployed, back to the south, and we can carefully and decisively hand over all our responsibility on the ground and at sea to the Lebanese army.
*Marlene Khalife: UNIFIL’s mission is set to conclude without finalizing the demarcation of the Blue Line and the Lebanese–Israeli border. As of today, there are still nine new points where Israel remains inside Lebanese territory. How do you view this unresolved issue?
-Andrea Tenenti:What we were doing before in the marking of the blue line was a very important work that we were carrying out with the parties, and a lot of work was done until the conflict started in visibly marking the blue line in different points in order to prevent violations. We have been moving forward with a lot of meetings with both sides in agreement, and we were still trying to see how we could solve issues related to the reservation areas.
Then the conflict started, but I think this is still a very important job that can only be carried out by the international community, can only be carried out by an international community like the United Nations, like the mission, and I think it would be important to continue to do that to create the condition for a permanent stability or to move forward toward a permanent ceasefire in the south of Lebanon.
But at the moment, this still has not been discussed.
*Marlene Khalife: How can the Lebanese government and the international community prepare for a future without UNIFIL’s presence?
–Andrea Tenenti:This will be for the Lebanese authorities in general, but also for the international community to see how this will be possible.
I always warned, even during the conflict, when we were asked to leave the south of Lebanon in October, when the Israelis asked us to leave and we decided to stay, the decision to stay was very important. It was positively recognized by the international community. What could happen if there is a vacuum in the south of Lebanon? Difficult to say.
If all of a sudden there are no more peacekeepers, no more international community capable and able to provide monitoring capabilities and reporting to the Security Council and reporting to the international community. This vacuum could be very dangerous. And I hope that by the end of 2036, there will be a solution to this future vacuum.
It’s not only important the presence of the mission for stability, it’s also important for the people of the south, for the reconstruction, for the humanitarian assistance that we’ve been giving for years to the population. To also support, in a way, economically the south of Lebanon, in much need in these days. So a vacuum of UNIFIL, no more peacekeepers in the south, could potentially create issues for the security and stability of the region.
*Marlene Khalife: My two last questions. Andrea, UNIFIL closely engaged with and assisted local communities in southern Lebanon. In your view, how would UNIFIL’s absence affect these communities?
–Andrea Tenenti:We’ve been living in synergy and close relations with the people in the south since 1978. It’s been a long mission. And the people in the south recognize our role on a daily basis.
UNIFIL is not a humanitarian peacekeeping mission. We’ve been giving a lot of humanitarian support with projects that we’ve been carrying out with the population, reconstructions of infrastructure, in these days also removing landmines from all these areas, or removing all the rubbles from villages that have been destroyed, medical activities, veterinarians, dentists, the people living in the south of Lebanon purchasing items in the south. So the relation has been really, really good.
And despite the few incidents that we’ve been having with the population, the vast majority of the relation with the people in the south has been very positive. Who will replace UNIFIL? That is the question that we should ask to the rest of international communities, if UN agencies, NGOs. But as I said, our presence was massive.
With over 10,000 troops and people, countries from 48 countries, a lot of support on a daily basis. We have 50 positions all around the south of Lebanon. So the support was important.
And it was being recognized by the Lebanese in the south. So now we need to see what could happen after the end of next year. My last question, finally.
*Marlene Khalife: Finally, what will you miss most about Lebanon? And what are your plans for the future?
–Andrea Tenenti: What I will miss the most of Lebanon is actually Lebanon. It’s the country that has welcomed me for 19 years. That has been not only supportive of what I’ve been doing, but also I learned a lot from the Lebanese people in their pragmatism, in their capability of always seeing the glass half full, even when the glass was completely empty.
So there is always the capabilities of finding solutions, even when the solutions are very, very difficult. So I came here without knowing much of this region, and I not only learned a lot, but it’s a country where I spent most of my professional life and a country where I will come back because it has given me more than what I gave to Lebanon. So I will still continue to support Lebanon, whatever role I will have in the future, and speaking not only on the positive things that this country has to offer.
I don’t know what I will be doing next. At the moment I’m going back to Italy, and after that I will see and I will let everyone know what will be my next, my future plan. Thank you so much, Andrea, and good luck.
*Marlene Khalife: Thank you. Andrea and Good Luck.
