In a report to the Security Council seen by AFP, Guterres proposes three options ranging from nearly 2,000 to more than 5,500 UN personnel to monitor the ceasefire and support the Lebanese armed forces.

“Under all proposed options, a uniformed United Nations presence working to facilitate de-escalation, dialogue, liaison and coordination, and support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, would be necessary… towards the overarching objective of a long-term solution to the conflict,” the report says.

Concerns over the exit of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) come with Israeli troops occupying south Lebanon’s border areas, and as Israel and Lebanon hold direct negotiations seeking to end decades of hostilities.

UNIFIL currently counts some 7,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries. They are deployed in south Lebanon near the Blue Line, the 120km de facto border between Lebanon and Israel, where they are now in the middle of the Israel-Hezbollah war.

A Lebanese official requesting anonymity told AFP that after UNIFIL’s mandate ends on Dec 31, Lebanon’s preference is to still have “an international presence under the umbrella of the UN”.

A second Lebanese official said it was “crucial” to have some kind of UN force resembling UNIFIL, “maybe with some downsizing or mission changes.”

UNIFIL has been a buffer between Lebanon and Israel since 1978, but its presence has not been enough to prevent repeated outbreaks of conflict.