Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah has demanded that Israeli forces complete their withdrawal from the south of the country in accordance with the terms of a mutually agreed cease-fire agreement.
In November, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire brokered by France and the United States, ending more than a year of fighting.
Under the agreement, Israeli forces were to withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah forces from southern Lebanon in 60 days, ending on Monday.
Israeli government spokesman David Mensah did not directly answer questions Thursday about whether Israel had requested an extension to the deal or whether Israeli troops would remain in Lebanon after the 60-day deadline.
Israel’s ambassador to the United States says Israel is in talks with President Donald Trump’s administration to persuade the United States to extend the deadline by at least another month, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodor reported from Beirut, Lebanon. said.
“Israeli officials are talking about remaining in Lebanon, which would violate the cease-fire agreement to withdraw by January 26,” she said.
“Hezbollah is hinting at resuming military operations. If Israeli soldiers remain, they will become an occupying force and there will be ‘resistance’,” Hodor said.
Hezbollah said Thursday that Israel must completely withdraw from Lebanon as the 60-day ceasefire agreement expires, warning that any violation of the agreement will not be accepted.
Speaking alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “We need a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.”
The Lebanese government has also told U.S. mediators that the deployment of Lebanese troops could be complicated if Israel fails to withdraw by a deadline, which would require diplomatic efforts and a decision by Aoun to take office as president on January 9. He said it would be a blow to the optimistic atmosphere in Lebanon since he was elected.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayad announced on January 20 that if Israel fails to withdraw, all Lebanese people will “use all means and tools to confront the Israeli occupation and drive it out of our land.” He said it would be in stages.