Lebanese PM said seeking to meet US, French officials over claims Israel breaking truce

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is reportedly set to meet today with representatives from the US and France to discuss “Israeli violations” of the ceasefire with Hezbollah, according to Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with the terror group.

Mikati has also asked to convene the five-member committee tasked with dealing with preserving the ceasefire, al-Akhbar writes, and will ask it to confirm that Lebanon has not violated the deal and is committed to it, and that alleged Israeli violations will cause a resumption of hostilities and need to be prevented, according to informed sources quoted by al-Akhbar.

The committee is composed of the US, France, Lebanon, Israel and the UN observer force in southern Lebanon UNIFIL.

Yesterday, Mikati said that the US and France should put pressure on Israel to speed up its withdrawal from southern Lebanon. UNIFIL issued a statement with the same request.

Under the ceasefire agreement, the IDF has until late January to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and, in the meantime, it continues to operate against and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure.

For its part, the Israeli army stated on Monday that it was continuing its defensive activities in the south of Lebanon “in accordance with the agreement,” adding that it had “seized and dismantled various weapons and military equipment from a warehouse.”