Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested that Israel may not complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by the deadline set in its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. The agreement requires Israel to withdraw all its forces by Sunday, while Hezbollah militants must move back to the north of the Litani River. The Lebanese armed forces and U.N. peacekeepers are supposed to patrol the buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu stated that the ceasefire allows for the possibility of the withdrawal process continuing beyond the 60-day timeframe. The Lebanese government has not fully enforced the agreement, particularly in terms of deploying Lebanese troops.
The United States, which helped broker the agreement along with France, supports an extension of the ceasefire in Lebanon. The Trump administration is committed to the safety of Israeli citizens returning home to northern Israel, while also backing the new Lebanese government under President Michel Aoun.
Everyone involved in the ceasefire aims to prevent Hezbollah from posing a threat to the Lebanese people or their neighbors. The U.S. expressed satisfaction that the Israeli Defense Forces have started withdrawing from central regions as part of the agreement.
There has been no immediate response to Netanyahu’s statement from Lebanon or Hezbollah.