Israeli officials say slow Lebanese deployment could extend IDF presence in Lebanon
Israel entered a 60-day ceasefire with Lebanon on Nov. 27. The agreement was signed by Israel, Lebanon and several mediating countries, including the United States.
One of the terms of the agreement was that the Lebanese government would deploy its military forces in southern Lebanon and take action against Hezbollah as needed by limiting the group's presence to areas north of the Litani River.
However, Lebanon has been slow to deploy its troops to the south, leaving Israel Defense Forces to plan for different scenarios at the end of the ceasefire.
If Lebanese forces are not fully deployed, the IDF may face challenges in completing its full withdrawal from Lebanon.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post, “Discussions were also held on whether Israel should completely withdraw from southern Lebanon, even in a situation where the deployment has not been completed.”
Israeli political and military officials are concerned that, despite the Lebanese military's deployment in the area and some signs of action against Hezbollah, the pace of operations and mobilization is slower than what was agreed upon.
Three days after the ceasefire with Hezbollah went into effect, the IDF published a summary of “Operation Northern Arrows,” its military offensive in southern Lebanon that began with massive airstrikes on Sept. 23 and culminated with the ground operation that began on Oct. 1.
The operation succeeded in deposing almost the entire Hezbollah leadership, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, and severely degraded its weapons arsenal.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF), Navy and artillery collectively struck more than 12,500 Hezbollah targets, including 1,600 military command centers and headquarters, and destroyed over 1,000 weapons warehouses.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
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