Netanyahu Suggests Israel’s Withdrawal From Lebanon Could Extend Beyond Deadline

Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Friday that Israel may not be able to pull all of its forces from Lebanon by the deadline set in its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. The deadline is set for Sunday, but Netanyahu indicated that the withdrawal could continue beyond this date. The ceasefire agreement, reached in November, requires Israel to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon by Sunday. The Hezbollah militants also need to move back north of the Litani River, while the Lebanese army, along with UN peacekeepers, would patrol the buffer zone in the south.

Netanyahu explained that the withdrawal timeline could extend beyond the 60-day limit, noting that the Lebanese government has not yet fully enforced the agreement, particularly in terms of deploying Lebanese troops to the area.

Israeli officials have been in discussions with the United States, which helped broker the ceasefire along with France. According to the Trump administration, an extension of the ceasefire is needed. National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement that a "short, temporary ceasefire extension is urgently needed" to allow time for further progress.

“President Trump is committed to ensuring Israeli citizens can safely return to their homes in northern Israel," while also supporting the new Lebanese government under President Michel Aoun, the statement said.

"All parties share the goal of ensuring Hezbollah cannot threaten the Lebanese people or their neighbours,” Hughes said. He said the US is “pleased that the IDF has started the withdrawal from the central regions.” There was no immediate response to Netanyahu's statement from Lebanon or Hezbollah.

The Lebanese government has said that it can't send its forces into areas until Israeli troops have withdrawn. Hezbollah has warned that it could resume the fighting if Israel doesn't withdraw from Lebanon following the ceasefire.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel the day after Hamas' attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are allies of Iran, and Hezbollah said that it was acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes, and the sides traded fire for more than a year. The war escalated in September when Israel carried out a heavy wave of airstrikes across Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and most of his deputies. Israeli ground forces invaded days later.

Israeli air and ground assaults killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. At the height of the war, more than 1 million Lebanese people were displaced.

Hezbollah rockets forced around 60,000 people from their homes in northern Israel and killed 76 people in Israel, including 31 soldiers. Almost 50 Israeli soldiers were killed during operations inside Lebanon.