The IDF will maintain a presence in five strategic points in southern Lebanon “until Lebanon implements its treaty obligations,” Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer tells Bloomberg, following reports from yesterday that the US has approved the move.
The minister, a close Netanyahu confidant, does not say how long the troops will remain, but “signaled Israeli troops won’t be removed in the short-term.”
According to the terms of a November 2024 ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah terror group, Israel was set to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by late January — a deadline that was extended to February 18, with American and Lebanese approval — as Hezbollah withdrew its forces north, and the Lebanese military deployed to the region.
Israel has accused Lebanon of failing to meet its obligations to deploy to the area, allowing Hezbollah to maintain or renew its presence there.
The US rejected an Israeli request for a further extension earlier this week, a US official said, and the Lebanese government has insisted on a complete IDF withdrawal.
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