BEIRUT: Lebanon’s new president said on Saturday that Israel must withdraw from his country’s south by the January 26 deadline set to fully implement an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreed on Nov 27, 2024.

His remarks follow a speech by Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem who accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations, warning it against testing “our patience” and calling on the Lebanese state to be “firm” in its response.

President Joseph Aoun told visiting United Nations chief Antonio Guterres that it was necessary for “Israeli forces to withdraw from occupied territories in the south within the deadline set by the agreement”. “Israel’s continued violations on land and in the air… blowing up homes and destroying border villages, completely contradicts what was stated in the ceasefire agreement,” a statement from Aoun’s office added.

Under the ceasefire deal, which ended two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese army has 60 days to deploy alongside peacekeepers from the UNIFIL mission in south Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws.

Guterres says Beirut can open a new chapter of peace; US pledges $117m in aid to Lebanon military

At the same time, Hezbollah is required to pull its forces north of the Litani River, around 30km from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure it has in the south.

After his meeting with President Aoun during a two-day visit, Guterres expressed hope that Lebanon could open ‘a new chapter of peace’. “Throughout my time here, I have sensed an atmosphere of opportunity,” Guterres told reporters in Beirut after meeting Aoun, Salam and Hezbollah ally parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

US pledges $117m in aid

Meanwhile, the US has announced it would donate more than $117m in security assistance for Lebanon’s armed forces, as the crisis-hit country seeks to implement a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The State Department said it had convened a “virtual donors meeting with partners and allies to discuss critical security assistance needed for Lebanon to fully implement the cessation of hostilities.” It said the new assistance to Beirut would support country’s armed forces and internal security forces “as they work to assert Lebanese sovereignty”.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2025