A top U.S. envoy who helped broker the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah reassured Monday that Israel will fully withdraw from southern Lebanon, as called for in the fragile 60-day truce deal that put the bloodiest war on hold between the two sides in recent decades. .
Speaking to reporters in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, envoy Amos Hochstein said Israeli troops had withdrawn from the southern city of Naqoura on Monday. In a statement, the Lebanese army said it had redeployed to the city following the Israeli withdrawal.
“These withdrawals will continue until Israeli forces are completely out of Lebanon,” Hochstein said after meeting with senior Lebanese officials. “There has been a lot of progress in the last few days and I expect to see more progress in the days to come.”
While the truce reached in late November continues to hold, there is growing frustration among Lebanese and Israeli officials over the pace at which the ceasefire agreement is being pushed forward, with the deadline fast approaching for compliance with the terms.
Hochstein did not specify when Israeli troops will fully withdraw from Lebanon, and it remains uncertain whether the ceasefire agreement will be fully in force by the end of the 60-day period.
The agreement ended a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a powerful Lebanese militant group that began firing rockets at Israel in support of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Hezbollah and Hamas are supported from Iran, part of its network of regional delegates.
After Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah in September last year, violence killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million. The fighting also severely weakened Hezbollah, wiping out much of its leadership.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli troops have until January 26 to withdraw from Lebanon. Hezbollah militants are expected to retreat in tandem north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, and the Lebanese army is expected to deploy in force along the border.
So far, however, the Israeli army has withdrawn from only three of the dozen areas in southern Lebanon where it continues to hold positions, a figure that includes Monday’s withdrawal from Naqoura, where a United Nations peacekeeping mission is based. United.
Amid accusations of ceasefire violations from both sides, Lebanon also told the UN Security Council that Israel has launched over 800 “land and air attacks” since the ceasefire took effect.
In turn, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Hezbollah and the Lebanese state on Sunday of failing to respect the terms of the ceasefire agreement, warning that Israel could be “forced to act” if progress is not made .
“This is not an easy process to implement; it’s a difficult process,” Hochstein admitted during the press conference on Monday.
Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, threatened in a speech on Saturday that his group could start attacking Israel again if the country’s troops did not fully withdraw from southern Lebanon before the end of the 60-day period.
“When we decide to do something, you will see it directly,” he said.