Israel, Lebanon agree to extend deadline for IDF withdrawal

The White House has said that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend the deadline for Israeli troops to depart southern Lebanon until February 18.

The agreement came as was followed after Israel requested more time to withdraw beyond the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November, Caliber.Az reports via American media.

Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure that Hezbollah does not reestablish its presence in the area. The Lebanese army has said it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw.

The White House said in a statement that “the arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, will continue to be in effect until February 18, 2025.” It added that the respective governments “will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023.”

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government, but Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed the extension.

The announcement came hours after demonstrators, some of them carrying Hezbollah flags, attempted to enter several villages to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw from southern Lebanon by the original Sunday (January 26) deadline.

On January 26, Israeli forces killed 22 people and injured 124 in south Lebanon as a deadline for their withdrawal passed and thousands of people tried to return to their homes in defiance of Israeli military orders, Lebanese authorities said.

Lebanon's U.S.-backed military, which reported one of its soldiers among those killed by Israeli forces on January 26, has accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.

The Hezbollah-Israel conflict was fought in parallel with the Gaza war, and peaked in a major Israeli offensive that uprooted more than a million people in Lebanon and left the Iran-backed group badly weakened.

By Khagan Isayev