Lebanon accuses Israel of 'distorting' withdrawal

The Lebanese Army (LAF) announced on January 25 that it was ready to deploy forces in the south of the country under the ceasefire agreement, but Israel continued to drag its feet and not withdraw its troops before the January 26 deadline.

The LAF statement stressed that "some steps have been delayed due to the Israeli enemy delaying the withdrawal" although Lebanon "is ready to continue the deployment of forces".

The LAF has urged people to be cautious and not rush to return to evacuated areas near the border as there are still many minefields and explosives left by Israeli soldiers.

The 60-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, which took effect on November 27 last year, requires both sides to withdraw troops from the southern border area to allow the LAF and UN forces to deploy in their place.

However, on January 24, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would not complete the withdrawal before the deadline because Hezbollah had not completely withdrawn and the LAF had not established control in the above areas.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on January 25 accused the Hamas Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip of not complying with the terms of the ceasefire, according to which civilian hostages must be released first.

The above accusation was posted by IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee on social network X, after 4 female Israeli soldiers were released by Hamas earlier that day and it is expected that 200 Palestinian prisoners will be released by Israel this time according to the agreement.

On the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would not allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza until Hamas resolved the issue of returning civilian hostages.