Lebanon concerned Israel won't meet withdrawal deadline

BEIRUT — Lebanon's president voiced concern Monday that Israel may not fully withdraw its forces by the deadline the following day, as Israel said it killed a Hamas commander in south Lebanon.

Officials in Lebanon have demanded Israel's full withdrawal by Tuesday, after Israeli forces missed an earlier January cut-off under a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah.

"We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow," President Joseph Aoun said in a statement from his office.

"The Lebanese response will be through a unified, comprehensive national position," he added.

The Israeli military said it killed "the head of Hamas' operations department in Lebanon" in an air strike, after Lebanon's official National News Agency said a raid targeted a vehicle in the coastal city of Sidon.

In a statement, it said Mohammed Shahine "was eliminated after recently planning terror attacks, directed and funded by Iran, from Lebanese territory against the citizens of the state of Israel".

An AFP photographer saw soldiers and first responders inspecting the mangled, burnt-out wreckage of the vehicle.

Israel has repeatedly targeted Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023 and Hizbollah initiated cross-border hostilities with Israel over the conflict.

The Israel-Hizbollah ceasefire has been in effect since November 27, after more than two months of all-out war during which Israel launched ground operations.

Ceasefire sponsors

Under the deal, Lebanon's military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18.

Hizbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River,  about 30 kilometres from the border,  and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

"We are continuing contacts on several levels to push Israel to respect the agreement and to withdraw on the scheduled date, and return the prisoners," Aoun said earlier Monday.

"The sponsors of the deal should bear their responsibility to assist us," he added.

A committee involving the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and UN peacekeepers is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.

Hizbollah chief Naim Qassem on Sunday said it was the government's responsibility to ensure the Israeli army fully withdraws by Tuesday's deadline.

Last week, Lebanon's parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a Hizbollah  ally, said Washington had told him that while Israel would withdraw on February 18, "it will remain in five locations".

Lebanon has rejected the demand.

Karim Bitar, lecturer in Middle East studies at Sciences-Po University in Paris, said "it appears that there is a tacit if not an explicit US agreement to extend the withdrawal period".

"The most likely scenario is that Israel would maintain control over four or five hills that basically oversee most of south Lebanon's villages," he said.