Lebanon’s Aoun ‘afraid’ Israeli forces won’t withdraw by Tuesday deadline

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has expressed concern that the Israeli forces occupying southern Lebanon may not fully withdraw by the February 18 deadline.

“We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow,” Aoun said in a statement released by the presidency on Monday.

“[T]he important thing is to achieve the Israeli withdrawal," Aoun insisted, adding, “We are continuing contacts on several levels to push Israel to respect the agreement and to withdraw on the scheduled date, and return the prisoners.”

Aoun said it was imperative that the Israelis withdraw. 

Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended till February 18

A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon has been extended for about three more weeks, after the regime refused to withdraw its forces in line with the original deal.

Earlier on Monday, Aoun urged sponsors of the ceasefire deal with the Israelis to pressure Tel Aviv to pull out its forces by the deadline. “The sponsors of the deal should bear their responsibility to assist us.”

Israel was forced to accept the ceasefire with the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah on November 27, 2024, after suffering heavy losses on the battleground and failing to achieve its goals despite killing over 4,000 people in Lebanon.

The Israeli withdrawal was stipulated in the ceasefire deal. Under the agreement, Israeli forces had been initially due to withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26 in line with the original ceasefire deal.

Israeli forces, however, did not leave the occupied areas in a blatant violation of the truce and an infringement on Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Israel says will stay in Lebanon beyond extended withdrawal deadline

The Israeli military says it will stay in Lebanon even after the extended deadline for the withdrawal of the regime forces under the ceasefire deal.

In the meantime, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said on Monday Tel Aviv planned to keep its troops stationed in several positions across southern Lebanon past the February 18 deadline.

“We need to remain at those points at the moment to defend Israeli citizens, to make sure this process is complete and eventually hand it over to the Lebanese armed forces,” Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told a briefing with reporters, claiming the move was not in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

“Basically the security situation is very, very complex.”

A Lebanese official and two foreign diplomats said Israeli forces would likely leave villages in south Lebanon but remain in vantage points overlooking the region.

The two diplomats said talks were still underway on alternatives to Israeli troops staying, including possibly deploying more UN peacekeepers to the border.

France has proposed that UN forces, including French troops, replace Israeli forces at key border points.

Hezbollah said on Sunday that Israeli forces still in Lebanon after Tuesday would be considered an occupying force.

Israeli forces had previously occupied southern Lebanon for 22 years, withdrawing in 2000.

A committee representing the United States, France, Lebanon, the Israeli regime and the command of the UN peacekeepers serving in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violation is identified and dealt with.

UNIFIL has been monitoring the border between the Israeli regime and Lebanon for decades. The UN peacekeepers were first deployed in southern Lebanon to oversee the Israeli withdrawal in 1978.

The UN mission, tasked with maintaining peace in the region by recording ceasefire violations on either side, has some 9,500 troops recruited from about 50 countries.

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