Israel withdraws from Lebanon, but remains in 'five key points'

The Lebanese Government accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has ramped up diplomatic efforts in an attempt to pressure the Israeli military from withdrawing from the remaining locations it occupies in southern Lebanon.

Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon had already been extended past the original 60-day deadline, which expired on January 26, after Israeli officials insisted that the IDF had not yet dismantled all Hezbollah infrastructure, and claiming that the Lebanese Army did not keep its commitment to deploy to the towns in the South.

The extension expired yesterday, February 18, when the IDF was supposed to fully withdraw from Lebanese territory. On the morning of February 14, the Head of the Ceasefire Monitoring Committee in Lebanon, U.S. General Jasper Jeffers, announced instead that the Israeli Army would withdraw from all 'population centers', implying that the IDF would remain deployed in at least some areas of southern Lebanon past the deadline. Israeli officials later mirrored this, stating that the IDF would stay 'indefinitely' in 5 key locations in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah's Secretary General, Naim Qassem, stated that any Israeli presence in Lebanon past the February 18 deadline would constitute another 'blatant violation' of the ceasefire terms, and he urged the Lebanese Government and the United Nations to take resolute action.