Netanyahu suggests Israel might not complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by a cease-fire deadline
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JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Friday that Israel might not withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon by a deadline set in its cease-fire with Hezbollah.
Under the deal reached in November, Israel is supposed to complete its withdrawal from the country by Sunday. Hezbollah militants are due to pull back to the north of the Litani River, and the Lebanese armed forces would patrol the buffer zone in southern Lebanon alongside U.N. peacekeepers.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the cease-fire “is based on the understanding that the withdrawal process could possibly continue beyond the 60 days.” The statement went on to say that the Lebanese government hasn’t yet “fully enforced” the agreement, an apparent reference to the deployment of Lebanese troops.
Israeli officials have held talks in recent days with the United States, which brokered the agreement.
There was no immediate response to Netanyahu’s statement from Lebanon or Hezbollah.
The Lebanese government has said that it can’t send its forces into areas until Israeli troops have fully withdrawn. Hezbollah has warned that it could resume the fighting if Israel doesn’t withdraw in accordance with the cease-fire.
Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel the day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are allies of Iran, and Hezbollah said that it was acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes, and the sides traded fire for more than a year. The war escalated in September, when Israel carried out a heavy wave of airstrikes across Lebanon and killed Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and most of his deputies. Israeli ground forces invaded days later.
Hassan Nasrallah propelled Hezbollah in Lebanon into one of the world’s most powerful paramilitary factions and Israel’s constant foe.
Israeli air and ground assaults killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. At the height of the war, more than 1 million Lebanese people were displaced.
Hezbollah rockets forced around 60,000 people from their homes in northern Israel, and killed 76 people in Israel, including 31 soldiers. Almost 50 Israeli soldiers were killed during operations inside Lebanon.
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