IDF to Remain in Five Strategic Positions in Southern Lebanon Beyond Ceasefire Deadline

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (VINnews)-The IDF confirms troops will remain deployed to five strategic positions in southern Lebanon beyond tomorrow’s deadline to withdraw as part of a ceasefire agreement, and details where they are located.

The United States has authorized the IDF to remain in the five points, though it is not clear yet how long troops will stay there. The military says it will stay there as long as the Israeli political echelon tells it to.

At the five positions, the IDF has constructed military posts that will be manned by troops.

The posts are located at: a hill near Labbouneh, across from the the Israeli border town of Shlomi; the Jabal Blat peak, across from Zar’it; a hill across from Avivim and Malkia; a hill across from Margaliot; and a hill across from Metula.

None of the posts are located within built-up areas of Lebanon. The IDF will be withdrawing from all Lebanese border villages and towns tomorrow.

The IDF has also ramped up its defenses on the Israeli side of the border, with several new army posts, one in front of every Israeli border community; better surveillance capabilities, including more cameras, radars, and censors; and triple the number of troops compared to before the war.

The military expects Hezbollah supporters to carry out protests as residents of the south Lebanon border villages return to their homes. Troops by then will not be located in any of the towns, so there should be no direct friction, according to the IDF.

The IDF, however, will prevent suspects from approaching the Israeli border and the newly established army posts at the five strategic positions.

Over the last few days, the IDF says it carried out “intensive activity” in southern Lebanon, removing any last threats it could find, from caches of Hezbollah weapons to tunnel infrastructure. The troops operated in areas up to 8 kilometers inside Lebanon.

The IDF says that the area close to the Israeli border is essentially entirely cleared of Hezbollah infrastructure and weapons, after troops in the past months scanned nearly every home, under every tree, and in every valley.

Meanwhile, the IDF says it will continue to enforce the ceasefire agreement after the withdrawal, by striking immediate Hezbollah threats and notifying a US-led committee of violations.

The Israeli military hopes to see the Lebanese Armed Forces act more against Hezbollah, as so far their operations against the terror group have been slower than expected. Still, in recent days, the IDF says it has seen an improvement in the Lebanese army’s actions against Hezbollah.

Wherever the Lebanese army fails to act, the IDF vows to operate, as it has done amid the ceasefire, while coordinating everything with the US.

Should the ceasefire continue to hold after the IDF withdrawal, displaced Israeli residents of northern Israel will begin to return to their homes on March 2.