Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Friday that Israel may not withdraw all its troops from Lebanon due to a deadline for a ceasefire with Hezbollah, and Washington appears ready to push for an extension.
Under the deal reached in November, Israel is to complete its withdrawal from the country by Sunday. Hezbollah militants will have to be pulled back north of the Litani River, and the Lebanese army will patrol a buffer zone in southern Lebanon alongside UN peacekeepers.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the ceasefire is “based on the understanding that the withdrawal process can continue beyond 60 days.” The statement added that the Lebanese government had not yet “fully implemented” the agreement. This is an obvious reference to the deployment of the Lebanese army.
Israeli officials recently held talks with the United States, which along with France brokered the agreement.
The Trump administration believes there is an “urgent need for a short temporary ceasefire extension” in Lebanon, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement Friday.
“President Trump is committed to ensuring that Israeli citizens can safely return to their homes in northern Israel” and support the new Lebanese government under President Michel Aune.
“All political parties share the goal of ensuring that Hezbollah does not have the ability to threaten the Lebanese people or their neighbors,” Hughes said. He said the United States is “pleased that the IDF has begun its withdrawal from the central region.”
There was no immediate reaction to Netanyahu’s statement from Lebanon or Hezbollah.
