The Israeli government says its military will not withdraw from Lebanon by Sunday’s deadline, in breach of a ceasefire agreement that ended months of confrontation with Hezbollah.
Israel was anticipated to retract all of its troops from southern Lebanon as part of the agreement, but the Israeli government said some of its troops would stay in southern Lebanon, accusing Lebanon of stumbling to uphold its end of the deal.
“The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) retreat is circumscribed upon the Lebanese army stationing in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “Since the truce deal has not yet been fully implemented by Lebanon, the gradual retract process will continue, in full coordination with the United States.”
Under the November ceasefire deal, both Israeli and Hezbollah forces consented to tack back from southern Lebanon by January 26, the end of a 60-day period outlined in the agreement.
Hezbollah warned on Thursday that if the Israeli military stayed in Lebanon past Sunday, it would be “considered a brazen violation of the deal.”
The Israeli military raided southern Lebanon on October 1, the climax of a yearlong war with Hezbollah, which attacked Israeli-controlled territory on October 8, 2023, in alliance with Hamas.
The Israeli government had told Trump’s administration that it wanted Israeli forces to stay in Lebanon for at least another 30 days. The Israeli security cabinet met on Thursday to discuss the matter.
It is not clear whether the Trump administration has replied to the demand or taken it to the Lebanese government. Former President Joe Biden’s envoy mediated the deal between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group that was supported by Iran.
In a statement, a US Department of Defence official appeared to suggest that the timeline could be expendable.
Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador in Washington, told Israel’s Army Radio on Thursday that a 60-day deadline set out in a November truce agreement “is not set in stone.”
“We are presently in discussions with the Trump administration in order to extend the duration of time needed for the Lebanese army to station and fulfil its duties as per the deal,” he said. “There is an understanding in the incoming administration about what our security needs are and what our stance is, and I believe that we will reach an understanding in this matter as well.”
A US Department of Defence official didn’t clearly say whether the withdrawal was in progress.
“The cessation of hostilities commitments that went into effect Nov. 27, 2024, state that IDF retract from the Southern Litani area should be fulfilled in 60 days,” the official said. “That timeline was set to try to produce speed of action and progress. And progress has been made.”
“The Lebanese Armed Forces have shown that they have the determination, will, and potential to execute the arrangement,” the official further added.
According to the November deal, both Israeli and Hezbollah troops must withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26, the end of that 60-day period.
An Israeli official who described Israel’s demand to the US said Israel has requested a 30-day postponement and has said it would reanalyse the workability of retracting from southern Lebanon at the end of that extension. The official said all of the outposts Israel has asked to maintain are alongside the Israel-Lebanon border.
The Lebanese military and UN peacekeepers will be the only forces permitted in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah must pull its forces from north of Lebanon’s Litani River—a frontier beyond which the militant group was not supposed to have moved under a 2006 United Nations Security Council resolution.
“That is not yet the case,” Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said of Hezbollah’s retreat and the Lebanese military’s deployment in a briefing Thursday. “There is movement, but it is not moving fast enough.”
Hezbollah warned on Thursday that an Israeli violated the deal would require the Lebanese state “to deal with it by every means at its disposal afforded to it by international treaties in order to retrieve the land and snatch it from the clutches of occupation.”
There has for some time been assumption in Israel that the government would seek to change the condition of its ceasefire with Hezbollah once Trump assumes office.
The exact situation in southern Lebanon is decidedly hazy . The Israeli military has spent these past months of the ceasefire destroying Hezbollah weapons and military infrastructure and leveling several Lebanese villages near the border. Hezbollah’s military posture is not clear.
The clearest situation has been showcased by the US military, which in collaboration with the French government and the United Nations is monitoring the truce.
US Major General Jasper Jeffers, who heads the American effort, said after a trip to southern Lebanon last week that Lebanese military “checkpoints and patrols operate effectively throughout south-west Lebanon.” He said that the belligerents were “on a very positive direction to continue the retract of the IDF as planned.”
