US hails Lebanese army’s implementation of truce, even as Israel views it as inadequate
Report says IDF Northern Command chief doubts ceasefire’s initial phase will be fulfilled at all; cabinet sources reportedly say IDF may not leave Lebanon ‘for many years’
A senior American has praised the Lebanese army for the pace of its ongoing process of assuming control of southern Lebanon in accordance with the ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel, even as indications grow that Jerusalem views the progress as insufficient and is threatening to delay its withdrawal beyond the 60-day period laid out in the agreement.
The US military general leading the committee tasked with enforcing the truce hailed the efforts of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in implementing the early stages of the agreement on Tuesday, following a visit to one of the LAF’s bases in southern Lebanon.
US Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers and French Brig. Gen. Guillaume Ponchin visited the LAF’s 5th Brigade headquarters five kilometers (three miles) northeast of Naqoura — one of the two towns from which Israeli forces have withdrawn as part of the ceasefire.
“As part of the Mechanism-enabled transition, the LAF immediately deployed forces to the area to clear roads, remove unauthorized munitions, and provide security for the people of Lebanon,” a statement from the US Embassy in Beirut said.
“Jeffers and Ponchin viewed stockpiles of weapons to be destroyed in the coming days, which the LAF seized from unauthorized armed groups,” the US readout said.
“The LAF is the legitimate security provider for Lebanon and continues to demonstrate to me and the rest of the Mechanism it has the capability, intent, and leadership to secure and defend Lebanon. They have acted decisively, rapidly, and with clear expertise,” Jeffers said in his own statement.
“Today, we saw an example of this with the soldiers of the 5th Brigade. The engineer corps in particular is full of true professionals, removing and rendering safe hundreds of pieces of unexploded ordnance every week,” Jeffers added.
U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers, the Co-Chairman of the Cessation of Hostilities Implementation Mechanism, and French Brigadier General Guillaume Ponchin visited the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) 5th Brigade headquarters in southwest Lebanon, Jan. 7. Generals Jeffers and Ponchin… pic.twitter.com/btcsJUWeS9
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 7, 2025
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to deploy alongside United Nations observers in the south as the Israeli army withdraws over a 60-day period. The Hezbollah terror group is to pull its forces north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border — and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon has been slower than anticipated, and IDF Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani has said this is because of a lack of Lebanese army troops ready to take over.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday accused Hezbollah of not withdrawing beyond the Litani River as stipulated and of not meeting other terms of the ceasefire after Hezbollah accused Israel of violations, adding that Israel will be “forced to act” if Hezbollah does not pull back.
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Sunday that Israel was recently signaling it could remain in Lebanon after the initial 60-day ceasefire in order to pressure the Lebanese Armed Forces to fulfill its obligations before the period ends.
Israel would very much prefer to have the Lebanese army deploy across southern Lebanon and ensure that Hezbollah retreats fully from the area, the official clarified.
According to Channel 12, the head of the IDF’s Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, is operating under the assumption that the initial phase of the ceasefire agreement will not be fulfilled at all.
On Tuesday, the outlet quoted Gordin as saying: “There is a question about whether the Lebanese army will meet [its obligations] in 60 days, and I think the chances are not high. But this is the agreement. We will insist that we will not retreat before the conditions are met on the other side. This should happen simultaneously.”
In a conversation with residents of northern Israel, Gordin was recorded saying that although there is an improvement in the conduct of the Lebanese army, there is still cooperation between them and Hezbollah operatives.
“We see the Lebanese army coming in, clearing out weapons, collecting equipment, clearing out equipment. It’s happening. Is it happening at the pace we would like? No. Is there no cooperation between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah? There is. We see it, respond to it and do what we can to improve this mechanism,” he said.
Gordin made sure to clarify that southern Lebanon “is not the territory of the State of Israel,” but added that Israel will do everything to “maintain full freedom of action and enforce that Hezbollah does not carry out military action south of the Litani.”
“We want to deepen the exclusion zone,” Gordin added. “To make sure [Hezbollah] doesn’t come closer. And we will do this using the tools of the agreement. The idea that there will be no residents in southern Lebanon — that’s not what will happen or what [Israel is] aiming for.”
According to a separate Channel 12 report, some cabinet members have said recently that the IDF will stay in southern Lebanon well beyond the 60 days that were agreed upon, with some saying that there are places that Israeli forces “will not withdraw for many years.”
As Lebanon’s concern has grown about the IDF staying beyond the agreement, Lebanese army officials have received “serious signals” that Israel could extend its presence in Lebanon for an additional 30 days.
According to the Al-Akhbar outlet, US military officials recently sent a message to the Lebanese Armed Forces indicating that the IDF will decide whether to request the extension depending on whether it can “fulfill its goals of ensuring the end of [Hezbollah’s] ability to carry out a preemptive attack.”
However, the Channel 12 report added, sources in Lebanon said that if the IDF stays beyond this time, “it will face complications and significant problems.”
The IDF, meanwhile, has continued to carry out strikes against Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure in south Lebanon. It has denied violating the terms of the agreement, saying that the strikes have targeted Hezbollah’s own violations.
In a Saturday speech, Hezbollah’s new chief Naim Qassem threatened that its “patience may run out” with Israeli behavior even before the end of the 60-day withdrawal period stipulated in the November truce agreement.
The war in Lebanon was sparked when Hezbollah, unprovoked, began firing at Israel on a near-daily basis on October 8, 2023, a day after fellow Iran-backed terror group Hamas stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, starting the war in Gaza.
Israel escalated the campaign against the terror group in September 2024, decimating its leadership and much of its capabilities, in a bid to end the persistent rocket fire that had displaced some 60,000 people from northern Israel.
