The Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, announced this morning that the Army will remain at five points close to the border in the Lebanon’s cushioning zone, although today the deadline for Israel to retire its forces from the south of the country as stipulated in the high fire agreement with Hizbulá.
“As of today, the army will remain in the cushioning zone in Lebanon by controlling five advanced positions and will continue to enforce – with strength and without concessions – any violation [del acuerdo] by Hizbulá, ”said Katz in a statement. “Hizbulá must completely withdraw beyond the line [del río] Litani and the Lebanese army must make it fulfill and disassemble its presence under the supervision of the mechanism established under US leadership, ”he said.
From Lebanon, the head of state, the prime minister and the president of Parliament have said in a statement that the Israeli presence will be considered an “occupation” and that “Lebanon has the right to use all means” to guarantee the Israeli withdrawal. Likewise, the leaders of the three most important institutions in the country have claimed that they will resort to the UN Security Council to deal with “Israeli violations” of the high fire agreement between Tel Aviv and Beirut.
The leader of the Chií Milicia Hizbulá, Naim Qassem, had threatened to retaliate if Israel did not retire from the south of the country before the established period and pointed to the Lebanese state as the “main manager” of pressing the Jewish state to happen.
After 14 of months of conflict, the high -fire agreement, which entered into force on November 27, ruled that Israel had to leave the south of Lebanon and that Hizbulá dismantled his positions south of the Litani River, about 25 kilometers from the border. The deadline for withdrawal, after an extension agreed by both parties at the end of January, expired on Monday night.
In conflict between Israel and Hizbulá, he began at the same time as the war in Gaza, since the Lebanese militia began to attack Israeli territory in response to the slaughter of the Palestinians in the strip. From October 2023 to the cessation of hostilities last January, more than 4,000 people died alone in Lebanon and more than one million left their homes. According to data from the International Organization for Migration (IIM) until February 5, 2025, almost 100,000 people are still displaced in Lebanon, mainly in the south.
#Israel #maintains #troops #Lebanon #expiring #deadline #withdraw #high #fire #agreement
