Israel targets southern Lebanon; Netanyahu says army to not leave by Sunday

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli army’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon will not exceed the 60-day ceasefire period, claiming that Lebanon has not yet fully complied with the terms.

The Israeli army continued to carry out “extensive military operations” in the southern Lebanon just two days before the country is supposed to end its hostilities under the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, according to the statement released on Friday.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported on Friday that Israeli forces rampaged through the south, bulldozing and setting fire to homes in the town of Aitaroun, damaging a mosque in the town of Qantara, and causing a “violent explosion” in Rab Thalathin.

The Netanyahu government was looking for ways to keep troops stationed in Lebanon after the deadlines set forth in the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, according to Israeli media reports from earlier on Friday.

In accordance with the agreement signed in November, Hezbollah forces and Israeli forces were required to withdraw from southern Lebanon over a 60-day period ending on January 26.

Israel reportedly requested an extension to the new US administration’s deadline on Friday, according to the Hebrew media outlet Ynet, claiming that Hezbollah has been able to regroup there after the Lebanese army has deployed too slowly to the south.

Benny Gantz, the former defense minister who resigned from the nation’s war cabinet last year, was quoted in the report as saying the military should continue to “intensify operations against any violation by Hezbollah, whether minor or serious.”

Field data suggested that Israeli forces were preparing to retain positions in the eastern region, according to a source with the UN.

The news comes as Lebanese citizens travel back to their southern villages to find them devastated.

Given the trail of destruction left by departing Israeli forces, the Lebanese military warned residents of the coastal town of Naqoura against returning home for their own safety.

The town’s mayor Abbas Awada returned to inspect the state of his hometown, saying, “Naqoura has become a disaster zone of a town.