Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati disclosed that Lebanon has agreed to extend the ceasefire agreement with Israel until February 18, 2025.
The move came after a day of violence in which Israeli forces shot at Lebanese people trying to return to their homes in southern Lebanon, killing at least 22 and wounding dozens more.
According to the ceasefire deal announced between Israel and Hezbollah in November, Israeli troops had been due to withdraw from southern Lebanon on Sunday, January 26, 2025.
Mikati said in a statement, “The Lebanese government reaffirms its commitment… to continue implementing the ceasefire agreement until February 18, 2025.”
Mikati announced that the United States will begin negotiations to return citizens being held in Israeli prisons.
The detainees were arrested by Israel after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks, Israel’s war on Gaza, and Israel’s parallel war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Top UN official in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert noted in a post on X that the formal extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah until February 18 could be a good sign.
“The formalisation of the extension of the timetable for the withdrawal of the Israeli army and the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon renews hope for those displaced from their homes and villages.
“A firm commitment by all parties to meet the agreed deadlines and to the effective implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 is of utmost importance.”
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert
On Sunday, Israeli soldiers killed at least 22 people and injured more than 120 in southern Lebanon after protesters demanded their withdrawal.
Demonstrators – some carrying Hezbollah flags – attempted to enter several villages to protest Israel’s failure to pull out by the 60-day ceasefire deadline.
The White House said that there had been an agreement to extend the deadline for the Israeli army to depart southern Lebanon until February 18, after Israel requested more time to withdraw beyond the 60-day deadline stipulated in the ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.
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 also said that it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw.
Later, Lebanon’s President, Joseph Aoun met with Mikati at the Baabda Palace.
They discussed general conditions in the country and recent developments in the south in light of ongoing efforts to complete the Israeli withdrawal from the remaining occupied villages and towns in the south.
They also addressed ministerial and administrative matters related to the caretaker government.
Israel Tempted To ‘Remain In Lebanon Rather Than Withdrawing’
Filippo Dionigi, a Lecturer of international relations at the University of Bristol, stated that it remains extremely uncertain what will happen in the next 20 days of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.
On Sunday, 24 Lebanese were killed and 134 wounded in attacks by Israeli troops. “It’s possible we’ll see a continuation of tensions — possibly even more deadly incidents like the ones we witnessed yesterday,” Dionigi noted.
Dionigi said that Hezbollah does not have much of an incentive to escalate the situation, adding that the group’s military capacity has been assessed as being reduced by 50-70 percent. “They may not have an appetite for reigniting the conflict,” Dionigi stated.
He noted that on the other hand, Israel has demonstrated over the past year-and-a-half it can do what it wants “without facing much consequences.”
“[Israel] is probably tempted to simply remain there [in Lebanon] and try to put pressure on the implementation of the conditions of the ceasefire through its presence, rather than withdrawing from Lebanese territory.”
Filippo Dionigi
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