The Israeli soldiers expected to stay in strategic locations despite the condition of retirement of the ceasefire by February 18.
Lebanon considers with distrust the actions of the Israeli army as the deadline for the withdrawal of its troops from the south of the country is approaching.
Beirut’s government said on Monday that Israel will not move all its forces from Lebanon by the agreed deadline on February 18.
“We are afraid that a full withdrawal will not be made tomorrow,” said Lebanon president Joseph Aoun, according to his office.
An Israeli official told the Associated Press news agency that soldiers would continue to occupy five strategic points on Lebanese soil. The report did not specify the exact location of these five sites.
The concerns of Lebanon concerning the plans of the Israeli army illustrate the fragility of the ceasefire between the Israeli group and the Lebanese group of Hezbollah.
They also come in the midst of several reports of attacks Through Lebanon – a common tactic of the Israeli army on the eve of a cessation of hostilities.
A drone hit a car in the port city of Sidon, the deepest of The many attacks in Israel in Lebanon Since the cease-fire agreement entered into force at the end of November.
The strike, near a control point in the Lebanese army, killed a Hamas official who headed the group’s operations department in Lebanon, said the Israeli army.
Zeina Khodr, from Al Jazeera, reporting on the scene, said that “Israel acts with little restraint”.
A drone also dropped a grenade on the main square of the southern city of Kfarchouba, while setting fire to the houses of the border town in Odaisseh, according to the national news agency in Lebanon.
Ramzi Kaiss of Human Rights Watch said that “the deliberate demolition of Israel of houses and civil infrastructure” made “impossible for many residents to return”.
Partial withdrawal?
Israel and Hezbollah have accepted the ceasefire – which has been in force since November 27 – to end months of total war, during which Israel launched ground operations against Lebanon and assassinated a wave of best Hezbollah figures, in particular, in particular Chef Hassan Nasrallah.
Under the agreement, the Israeli army had to withdraw from southern Lebanon over a period of 60 days, while the Army of Lebanon was to deploy in the heart of Hezbollah alongside the United Nations soldiers.
The deadline, which dropped at the end of January, was then extended until February 18.
Hezbollah, on the other hand, was to withdraw north of the Litani river – about 30 km (20 miles) from the border – and dismantle one of its remaining military infrastructure in the south.
However, last week, Israel accused the Lebanese armed group not to comply with the agreement, and said that he had not planned to withdraw fully in the short term, but would rather leave the troops in five key places.
Lebanon’s parliamentary president Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, said that he had received a word from Washington that Israel would remain in these five places, rejected a Plan from Lebanon.
“What we hear from Lebanese officials is that Israel will withdraw from certain villages, but will remain in strategic places on hills a few meters in Lebanon,” Khodr of Al Jazeera reported.
It is assumed that the positions that Israel intends to maintain will offer military control in southern Lebanon.
Karim Bitar, Lecturer in Studies in the Middle East Studies at the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), said: “It seems that there is a tacit if not explicit American agreement to extend the withdrawal period.”
