The deal struck on 27 November to halt the war gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers.
So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. It has continued striking several sites in the area.
The Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline.
Yet despite hundreds of Israel's ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say. That is good news for thousands of Israeli and Lebanese families displaced by the war still waiting to return home.
“The ceasefire agreement is rather opaque and open to interpretation,” said Firas Maksad, a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute in Washington. That flexibility, he said, may give it a better chance of holding in the face of changing circumstances, including the ouster of Syria's longtime leader, Bashar Assad, just days after the ceasefire took effect.
With Assad gone, Hezbollah lost a vital route for weapons from Iran. While that further weakened Hezbollah’s hand, Israel had already agreed to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
Since the Israeli war on Gaza began, Israeli air and ground assaults have 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 some 60,000 from their homes in northern Israel, and 76 people were dead, at least half of them soldiers. Another 50 Israeli soldiers were killed during Israel's incursion into Lebanon.
Here’s a look at the ceasefire terms and its prospects for ending hostilities over the long term.
What does the ceasefire agreement say?
The agreement says that both Hezbollah and Israel will halt “offensive” military actions but that they can act in self-defence, although it is not entirely clear how that term may be interpreted.
The Lebanese army is tasked with preventing Hezbollah and other militant groups from launching attacks on Israel. It is also required to dismantle Hezbollah facilities and weapons in southern Lebanon — activities that might eventually be expanded to the rest of Lebanon. However, it is not explicit in the ceasefire agreement.
The United States, France, Israel, Lebanon and the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, are responsible for overseeing the agreement's implementation.
“The key question is not whether the deal will hold, but what version of it will be implemented,” Maksad, the analyst, said.
Is the ceasefire being implemented?
Hezbollah has fulfilled its part and halted its rocket and drone fire into Israel. Israel, however, has launched regular airstrikes on what it says are militant sites in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
Israeli forces have so far withdrawn from two towns in southern Lebanon - Khiam and Shamaa. They remain in some 60 others, according to the International Organization for Migration, and around 160,000 Lebanese remain displaced.
Lebanon has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement and last week submitted a complaint to the U.N. Security Council that says Israel launched some 816 “ground and air attacks” between the start of the ceasefire and 22 December 2024.
The complaint said the attacks have hindered the Lebanese army's efforts to deploy in the south and uphold its end of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel claimed that Hezbollah has violated the ceasefire and has also complained to the Security Council. It accused Hezbollah of moving ammunition and "preparing" to launch rockets towards northern Israel, which did not happen.
Until it hands over control of more towns to the Lebanese army, Israeli troops have been destroying Hezbollah infrastructure, including weapons warehouses and underground tunnels. Lebanese authorities say Israel has also destroyed civilian houses and infrastructure.
What happens after the ceasefire has been in place for 60 days?
Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese towns has been slower than anticipated because of a lack of Lebanese army troops ready to take over, Israel's military spokesman claims. Lebanon disputes this and says it is waiting for Israel to withdraw before entering the towns.
Israel does not consider the 60-day timetable for withdrawal to be “sacred,” said Harel Chorev, an expert on Israel-Lebanon relations at Tel Aviv University who estimates that Lebanon will need to recruit and deploy thousands more troops before Israel will be ready to hand over control.
Hezbollah officials have said that if Israeli forces remain in Lebanon 60 days past the start of the ceasefire, the resistance group might return to attacking them. But Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Kassem said Wednesday that, for now, the group is holding off to give the Lebanese state a chance to "take responsibility” for enforcing the agreement.
In a speech Saturday, he took a more threatening tone.
“Our patience may run out before or after the 60 days," he said. "When we decide to do something you will see it directly."
Over the final two months of the war, Hezbollah suffered significant blows to its leadership, weapons and forces from a barrage of Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion that led to fierce battles in southern Lebanon.
“The power imbalance suggests Israel may want to ensure greater freedom of action after the 60 days,” Maksad, the analyst, said. And Hezbollah, in its weakened position, now has a “strong interest” in making sure the deal doesn't fall apart altogether “despite Israeli violations,” he said.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (Kan 11) reported that Israel is unlikely to withdraw from Lebanon after the 60 days.
In a report on Friday, the Israeli agency stated that "Israel is expected to send a message to the United States indicating that it will not withdraw from Lebanon after the sixty-day period outlined in the ceasefire agreement."
The report also mentioned that Israel is expected to inform the United States that it will not allow residents of Lebanese villages near the border to return to their homes.
While Hezbollah may not be in a position to return to open war with Israel, it or other groups could mount guerilla attacks using light weaponry if Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon, said former Lebanese army Gen. Hassan Jouni. And even if Israel does withdraw all of its ground forces, Jouni said, the Israeli military could continue to carry out sporadic airstrikes in Lebanon, much as it has done in Syria for years.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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