Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon by ceasefire end: Report
Israel will not leave the occupied areas in southern Lebanon at the end of the 60-day withdrawal period stipulated in a ceasefire deal with the Hezbollah resistance movement, a report says.
“Unless there is a huge surprise, the Lebanese Army won’t be able to deploy fully during the 60-day ceasefire, which means Israel will have to stay” for some longer period, an unnamed Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
The message, he added, has been relayed to the administration of US President Joe Biden.
Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after Israel unleashed a genocidal war on the besieged territory on October 7, 2023, launching numerous retaliatory attacks against targets in the occupied lands.
Israel was forced to accept the truce with Hezbollah on November 27, 2024, after suffering heavy losses on the battleground and failing to achieve its goals despite killing over 4,000 people in Lebanon.
The deal, due to expire on January 26, gave Israel 60 days to pull out its forces from the occupied towns and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.
Also on Sunday, a Lebanese ministerial source said that the government is “seriously” handling the reports on Israel’s possible non-withdrawal and that caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is intensifying efforts to warn against the move.
Meanwhile, Lebanese MP Kassem Hashem stressed that his country will not allow Israeli forces to remain an hour more in the south as soon as the truce expires.
“Should Israel remain in Lebanon beyond the deadline, then all international norms and treaties give Lebanon and its people the right to fully liberate their territories through all means necessary,” he told the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
On Saturday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem expressed the resistance group’s readiness to retaliate against Israeli violations of the truce deal.
“Our patience may run out during or after the end of the [ceasefire] deadline,” he warned.
“The resistance is not bound by any time schedule. The resistance’s leadership decides when and how to resist.”
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