Israeli Minister of Defense yesterday confirmed that troops remain at five positions in southern Lebanon past a pullout deadline, vowing action against any truce violation by militant group Hezbollah.
The Israeli military “will remain in a buffer zone in Lebanon with five control positions, and will continue to act forcefully and uncompromisingly against any Hezbollah violation,” Katz said in a statement shortly after an extended deadline expired for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon under the Nov. 27 truce deal.
Israel had announced hours before the pullout deadline that it would keep troops in “five strategic points” near the border.
A Lebanese security source earlier confirmed that “the Israeli army has withdrawn from all border villages except for five points.”
The ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group has been in effect since late November, following more than a year of hostilities, including two months of all-out war in which Israel launched ground operations.
Katz said the decision to remain inside Lebanese territory was made “in accordance with the decision of the political echelon ... to ensure the protection of all Israeli communities and deterrence against threats from Lebanon.”
“Hezbollah must fully withdraw beyond the Litani River, and the Lebanese army must enforce and disarm it under the supervision of the mechanism established by the United States,” Katz said, referring to the terms of the ceasefire deal.
“We are determined to provide full security to all communities in the north,” he added.
Under the ceasefire, brokered by Washington and Paris, Lebanon’s military was to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was extended to yesterday. Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30km from the border, and dismantle remaining military infrastructure there.
A spokesperson for the Lebanese presidency said that Beirut would consider any remaining Israeli presence on its lands an occupation and has the right to use any means to ensure an Israeli withdrawal.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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