Iran accuses Israel of disrupting Lebanon flights amid rising tensions
Al Jazeera7 days ago
Israel to Maintain Five Border Points in Lebanon
Above: People inspect their destroyed homes in the southern Lebanese village of Adaisseh on Feb. 18, 2025. Image copyright: Mahmoud Zayyat/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
Israel has begun withdrawing most of its forces from South Lebanon while maintaining control of five strategic hilltop locations along the border, despite the Feb. 18 withdrawal deadline stipulated under the cease-fire agreement brokered by the US and France.
The Lebanese Army has deployed to around a dozen villages and border areas, including the border towns of Kfarkela, Yaroun, and Maroun El Ras, while engineering units work to remove unexploded ordnance and repair damaged infrastructure.
The November cease-fire agreement required Israeli troops to withdraw entirely from South Lebanon, with Hezbollah expected to withdraw north of the Litani River and hand over the area to the Lebanese Army and UN.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Though the cease-fire in South Lebanon is fragile, it's paramount that the agreement holds so that conflict between Israel and Hezbollah isn't reignited. Israel will withdraw from Lebanon, though both sides have likely violated the cease-fire in some cases. Nonetheless, this war must come to a permanent end.
Pro-Israel narrative
Hezbollah hasn't been defeated and is quickly reemerging along Israel's border. Indeed, the "cease-fire" only served to give Hezbollah cover and time to organize when it was in disarray following Israel's destruction of its leadership. Hezbollah is exploiting the situation to make political gains in Beirut and reassert its presence in the south, thus why Israel must maintain these points along the border.
Narrative C
Israel is violating the cease-fire, and the Lebanese government is allowing them to do so. Indeed, this new government, handpicked by the US and Saudi Arabia, is more concerned with tying the hands of the Lebanese resistance to protect Israel than it is with maintaining Lebanon's sovereignty.