Report: Israel requests ten day extension of Lebanon withdrawal deadline

Israel has reportedly requested a ten-day extension of the Lebanon withdrawal deadline from both the ceasefire committee and US Envoy Morgan Ortagus, according to a report today in the Hezbollah-affiliated paper al-Akhbar, according to Israel Hayom.

According to al-Akhbar's sources, the joint ceasefire committee, which includes representatives of the United States, France, Lebanon, and Israel, is set to meet on February 20th, two days after the existing withdrawal deadline, which was itself extended from the original deadline of January 26 following an Israeli request.

The report stated that the Lebanese Army has demanded Israel withdraw entirely from Lebanon and that they are prepared to deploy and secure the evacuated areas.

However, Israel has reportedly submitted a request to extend the withdrawal deadline another ten days to the end of February to the US representative on the committee, General Jasper Jeffers, as well as to US Middle East Envoy Morgan Ortagus, when she visited Israel after stopping in Lebanon.

Israel reportedly also told Ortagus of the IDF's plan to deploy on both sides of the border and hold onto a number of strategic points on the Lebanese side, an idea which was also broached when Biden's envoy Amos Hochstein was operating in the region.

On the ground, Lebanese sources indicated that the next phase of the Lebanese army deployment is expected to take place before the end of the week in the villages of Blida and Mais al-Jabal, after the Lebanese army deployed this week in the villages of Rab Thalathine, Bani Hayyan, and Talloussa. According to the sources, the Lebanese army received a message that IDF forces will withdraw from additional settlements in the central and eastern sectors.

On the other hand, according to the report, other towns in the border area will not see a withdrawal in the near term, but will instead be subject to special arrangements due to their proximity to settlements in northern Israel. It is these areas where the IDF likely seeks to remain in some capacity even after it withdraws from everywhere else.