Jerusalem:
The Israeli military said its forces will remain at five “strategic points” inside Lebanon beyond Tuesday, when the deadline for troop withdrawal from the neighbouring country under a fragile ceasefire expires.
“Based on the current situation, we will leave small amounts of troops deployed temporarily in five strategic points along the border in Lebanon so we can continue to defend our residents and to make sure there’s no immediate threat,” military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists on Monday.
“This is a temporary measure until the Lebanese armed forces are able to fully implement the understanding”.
The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire has been in effect since November 27, after more than two months of all-out war during which Israel launched ground operations.
Under the deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18.
Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border — and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
A committee involving the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and UN peacekeepers is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.
“This is what we have discussed with the mechanism, and (this is what) is agreed upon moving forward, a temporary placement of our forces in these five points for the defence of our people,” Shoshani said.
Officials in Lebanon have demanded Israel’s full withdrawal by Tuesday, after Israeli forces missed the earlier January deadline.
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