BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday voiced concern that Israeli troops may not fully withdraw by a truce deadline the following day, saying the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons was a matter for the Lebanese.
“We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow,” Aoun said according to a statement from the presidency, adding that “the important thing is to achieve the Israeli withdrawal, and Hezbollah’s weapons come as part of solutions the Lebanese agree on.”
Aoun also urged sponsors of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah to help pressure Israel to withdraw troops by a deadline the following day.
“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, according to a presidency statement.
“The sponsors of the deal should bear their responsibility to assist us,” he added.
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group has been in effect since November 27 after more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war during which Israel launched ground operations.
Under the deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18.
Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River – about 30 kilometers from the border – and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
A committee involving the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and UN peacekeepers is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Sunday said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure the Israeli army fully withdraws by Tuesday’s deadline.
Last week, Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said Washington had told him that while Israel would withdraw on February 18, “it will remain in five locations.”
Lebanon has rejected the demand.
On Sunday, Israel said it carried out strikes in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah military sites, as official media reported three raids in the country’s east.
The official National News Agency also said Israeli gunfire killed a woman in the border town of Hula on Sunday as people tried to go home.
On Saturday, Israel said it targeted a senior militant from Hezbollah’s aerial unit, as Lebanese official media reported two dead in an Israeli strike in the south.
Karim Bitar, lecturer in Middle East studies at Sciences-Po university in Paris, said “it appears that there is a tacit if not an explicit US agreement to extend the withdrawal period.”
“The most likely scenario is that Israel would maintain control over four or five hills that basically oversee most of south Lebanon’s villages,” he said.
Ramzi Kaiss from Human Rights Watch said Monday that “Israel’s deliberate demolition of civilian homes and infrastructure” was making it “impossible for many residents to return.”