JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon beyond a 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah because its terms have not been fully implemented, the Israeli prime minister’s office said on Friday.
Under the agreement, which took effect on Nov. 27, Hezbollah weapons and fighters must be removed from areas south of the Litani River and Israeli troops should withdraw as the Lebanese military deploys into the region, all within a 60-day timeframe, meaning by Sunday at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT).
The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that left Hezbollah severely weakened and displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon.
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli military’s withdrawal process was “contingent on the Lebanese army deploying in southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, while Hezbollah withdraws beyond the Litani”.
“Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, the gradual withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States.”
The statement did not say how much longer Israeli forces might remain in south Lebanon, where the Israeli military says it has been seizing Hezbollah weapons and dismantling infrastructure used by the Shi’ite armed group.
There was no immediate comment from Lebanon.
HEZBOLLAH HAMMERED IN CONFLICT WITH ISRAEL
A Hezbollah official, asked for comment, referred Reuters to a statement issued by the group on Thursday. This said that any delay of the withdrawal would be an unacceptable breach of the agreement and put the onus on the Lebanese state to act. It said the state would have to deal with such a violation “through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters”.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it remained deployed in southern Lebanon and that it is “continuing to operate in accordance with the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon”.
Israeli troops had conducted strikes against Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and active observation posts in southern Lebanon over the past few days, it said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel said its campaign against Hezbollah aimed to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes in northern Israel by Hezbollah rocket fire.
It inflicted major blows on Hezbollah during the conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and thousands of the group’s fighters and destroying much of its arsenal.
Hezbollah was further weakened in December when its Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad, was toppled from power by rebels, cutting its overland supply route from Iran.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, noted that Israel was removing forces from Lebanon and the Lebanese army was going to locations of Hezbollah ammunition stores and destroying them, but added that more time was needed to “achieve results”.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said any “renewal of hostilities would be a devastating blow for civilians still struggling to rebuild their lives”.
“Regional and international mediators must ensure this truce evolves into a lasting ceasefire, with a firm commitment to protecting all civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Maureen Philippon, Country Director NRC in Lebanon, said in a statement.
More than 100,000 people remain displaced across Lebanon and the continued presence of Israeli troops is preventing civilians from returning home, according to the NRC.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir in Dubai, James Mackenzie in Jerusalem, Laila Bassam in Beirut, and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; writing by Tom Perry; editing by Ros Russell, Timothy Heritage, Mark Heinrich, William Maclean)
