The Israeli army announced that it will remain in five areas in southern Lebanon

^{Photo: Reuters}
The Israeli army, which is withdrawing from southern Lebanon, will maintain its positions at five positions in Lebanese territory. This was announced by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.

"Starting today, the Israel Defense Forces will remain in the buffer zone in Lebanon at five checkpoints along the border line to protect settlements in the north of the country," he wrote on his Twitter page.

Katz stressed that the Israeli army will continue its operations against Hezbollah in full.

"We will not allow a return to the situation of October 7, 2023," the minister added.

On February 17, the Ynet news portal reported that the Israeli Defense Forces would withdraw troops from southern Lebanon within the next 24 hours as part of a ceasefire agreement, but would remain in five strategic positions. According to Kan radio, the Israeli army would continue to remain in these five positions “indefinitely” after February 18 in order to prevent the resumption of Hezbollah activity in southern Lebanon.

The peace agreement, signed on November 27, 2024, as a result of American-French mediation, provides for the deployment of the Lebanese army along the entire southern border with the support of UN peacekeeping forces and the withdrawal of Hezbollah formations beyond the Litani River.

At the same time, Israel was supposed to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon within 60 days. On January 27, the White House announced that an agreement had been reached to withdraw Israeli troops from Lebanese territory and extend the ceasefire agreement until February 18. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”