After Hezbollah push, Israel preparing to pull out of Lebanon tomorrow: Report

Israel is planning to withdraw from Lebanon tomorrow, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

As per the extended deadline of the Israel-Hezbollah truce, Israel is required to withdraw from Lebanon by Tuesday (February 18).

As per the ceasefire brokered by the previous Joe Biden administration of the United States and France , Israel is required to vacate southern Lebanon and withdraw past the Blue Line, the de facto border of Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah is required to vacate southern Lebanon and move northward of the Litani river. The vacated area is required to be occupied by the regular Lebanese military that will enforce the truce.

However, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer previously said the Israeli military will stay in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon. It was not immediately clear if the withdrawal reported by The Times of Israel will also include withdrawal from these five places.

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Without giving the specifics, the official cited above told The Times of Israel, “We intend to leave and fulfill the agreement and of course, enforcement will continue. As you see, we just killed a senior Hamas official there in Lebanon — in Sidon, not in southern Lebanon. So we will continue with determined enforcement and what happened before October 7 will not happen again. We will attack every threat we see, and we will make sure that Hezbollah does not evade and does not receive funding from Iran… It just will not happen.”

Initially, the deadline for Israeli withdrawal as ending on Jan. 26. However, with mutual consent, the deadline was extended . Even though Israel sought further extension, no extension was granted.

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The development comes around the same time Donald Trump administration is pushing for the Israel-Hamas truce to advance to the second stage where all the remaining hostages are freed in exchange for more Palestinians held in Israel.