At a delicate moment in Lebanese politics, the envoy, Thomas J. Barrack Jr., provoked outrage by warning journalists at a news conference there not to be “animalistic.”

© Mohamed Azakir/Reuters

With its mission up for renewal, the U.N. force is under pressure to disband even as Israeli airstrikes continue along one of the world’s most volatile borders.

With its mission up for renewal, the U.N. force is under pressure to disband even as Israeli airstrikes continue along one of the world’s most volatile borders.