The Israeli army said on Monday that it would keep forces in five places in southern Lebanon after a deadline for its complete withdrawal failures on Tuesday. The announcement feared a resurgence of violence in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.
After more than a year of war, the two parties reached a ceasefire at the end of November which went to both Israel and Hezbollah to the control of southern Lebanon in the Lebanese army at the end of January. Hezbollah had long dominated the region, while Israel had captured large parts after invading Lebanon in September.
At the end of January, the mediators announced an extension of three weeks to this agreement, giving Israel for more time to finish its withdrawal. The truce has often been perforated by gusts of violence – including an Israeli air strike on Monday which killed a head of Hamas in southern Lebanon – but none of the parties has become back to the war on a large scale.
Now, the specter of a renewed conflict is once again looming after the Israeli army has announced that it would keep certain troops in Lebanon beyond the deadline of February 18, potentially preventing certain Lebanese civilians from returning home.
“We will leave small amounts of troops temporarily deployed in five strategic points along the border in Lebanon so that we can continue to defend our residents and make sure that there is no immediate threat,” said the Lieutenant-Colon a briefing for journalists on Monday afternoon.
Colonel Shoshani has appointed several places spread over most of the length of the 75 -mile border, including places on the other side of the Israeli villages border which were seriously damaged by the Hezbollah rocket fire during War. He said Hezbollah had not lived up to his own side of the November agreement and had always been a threat to Israeli residents in these regions. He refused to say how long the occupation would last. It is not known to what extent Hezbollah has a presence in these regions.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem vehemently opposed the idea of Israel who kept troops in Lebanon during a speech on Sunday. But he stopped committing to resume attacks against Israel.
“Israel must withdraw completely on February 18,” said Qassem. “This is the agreement.”
“Everyone knows how an occupation is treated,” he warned, without giving more details.
The war between Hezbollah and Israel broke out after the Lebanese militia began to shoot Israeli military positions in solidarity with its ally of Hamas, shortly after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
The conflict remained largely contained in back and forth missiles and rocket strikes, moving thousands on each side of the border, until it broke out in a complete frontal war and a large-scale Israeli bombardment Lebanese cities in the second half of 2024.
Israel has killed a large part of Hezbollah leaders in an air campaign and invaded large expanses in southern Lebanon, in movements that have collectively moved more than a million people in Lebanon.
Israel said its intention to prevent Hezbollah from being a threat to northern residents Israel, of which around 60,000 people were forced to leave their homes because of the Hezbollah arugula fire.
Gabby Sobelman contributed the reports.
