Underneath the preliminary phrases of the settlement that caused a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah in November, the previous was to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon by January 26.
That date got here and went, however Israel has refused to tug again its army, and the deadline has as a substitute been pushed to February 18. Israel has additionally continued to sporadically bomb areas in Lebanon – to mass denunciations from the latter – claiming that it’s concentrating on Hezbollah for violations of the ceasefire.
The Israeli presence in southern Lebanon signifies that 1000’s of individuals nonetheless can not return to their houses in border villages, with Israeli troops taking pictures at individuals who get too shut.
The battle between Israel and Hezbollah – a Shia group that’s the strongest army pressure in Lebanon – started on October 8, because the Lebanese group launched strikes in solidarity with the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, which was coming underneath Israeli assault. Israel intensified its attacks on Lebanon in September and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on September 27.
Israel has killed round 4,000 folks throughout Lebanon since October 2023.
Why is Israel nonetheless occupying southern Lebanon? How is that this a “ceasefire”? And what precisely is Israel’s finish sport?
Right here’s all it’s essential know.
Did the ‘ceasefire’ cease the conflict?
Whereas Hezbollah has stopped its assaults, Israel has not.
Israel’s bombing is nowhere close to the identical depth because it was earlier than the ceasefire started on November 27, and nightly bombing of Beirut’s southern suburbs has stopped.
Nonetheless, Israel continues to be finishing up assaults from time to time, a few of that are north of the Litani River – which Hezbollah is required to maneuver its forces north of, as per the ceasefire settlement.
The Armed Battle Location & Occasion Knowledge Undertaking (ACLED), a knowledge assortment group, has recorded 330 air strike and shelling incidents carried out by Israel between November 27 and January 10, in addition to 260 property destruction occasions.
What about Hezbollah?
Israel claims Hezbollah has additionally failed to fulfill the phrases of the ceasefire.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz stated Hezbollah has not withdrawn north of the Litani River, which lies in southern Lebanon.
“If this situation shouldn’t be met, there will likely be no settlement and Israel will likely be compelled to behave by itself to make sure the secure return of residents of the north to their houses,” Katz stated in January.
Hezbollah’s Secretary Basic Naim Qassem stated in a speech in late January that Hezbollah had adhered to the ceasefire settlement however didn’t say particularly whether or not or not his group had utterly withdrawn from the south.
ACLED has recorded one assault carried out by Hezbollah for the reason that ceasefire started.
“Hezbollah has largely shunned violence – there have been no direct assaults on Israeli soil for the reason that ceasefire took impact, except for a single assault on December 2 towards the Israeli Rwayset Al Alam website within the occupied territories that we code as Syria,” ACLED’s Ameneh Mehvar advised Al Jazeera.
Qassem stated the group would stay affected person regardless of the repeated assaults towards it.
What has the worldwide response been?
Lebanon has filed a grievance with the United Nations towards Israel for its ceasefire violations.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to fulfill the primary ceasefire deadline to withdraw its troops, to little impact. France and america had been the settlement’s unique brokers.
Is there any recourse for violations?
In keeping with diplomatic sources, the US – a robust ally of Israel – gave assurances that the deal can be adhered to.
However there was no different recourse – and no steered penalties – ought to the ceasefire be violated.
Israel has but to be held accountable for repeated ceasefire violations or extending the ceasefire interval till February 18.
What occurs if Israel refuses to depart Lebanon?
It’s unclear.
Hezbollah’s Qassem stated in a speech in January that his group’s persistence would possibly run out with Israel’s violations. However in a more moderen speech, he appeared to put the accountability to oppose Israel on the Lebanese state.
“The Lebanese state is totally chargeable for following up, pressuring and making an attempt to forestall as a lot as it could possibly, via sponsors and worldwide stress, this violation and this Israeli aggression,” Qassem stated in a televised tackle final week.
The Lebanese military is meant to maneuver into southern Lebanon as a part of the ceasefire settlement.
Any Hezbollah response will likely be restricted by the weakened place it finds itself in. The autumn of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria reduce off Hezbollah’s land path to obtain weapons from its major backer, Iran.
Its army capabilities additionally took a heavy beating throughout the two-month escalation from September till November, throughout which Israel invaded Lebanon. And it has misplaced most of its higher army management.
For these causes, Hezbollah seems reluctant to take any motion that can give Israel a motive to accentuate its assaults.
