According to intelligence reports, Gharb provided Hezbollah with sensitive information from a security control room operated by the United States, France, and the UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. This control room was set up to maintain peace and oversee security in southern Lebanon. The leak is said to have jeopardized the ceasefire terms, particularly as Israeli soldiers defied a deadline to withdraw from Lebanese territory. Israeli military action in southern Lebanon on Sunday resulted in 22 casualties, including one soldier, when Israeli forces opened fire as residents returned to their homes, according to the Times report.
The ceasefire, brokered by the US and France in November, had a crucial stipulation: Hezbollah was to halt all military activities south of the Litani River, approximately 25 miles from the Israeli border. In exchange, Israeli troops were expected to withdraw from southern Lebanon by Sunday morning. However, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) maintained they would remain until Lebanon fully enforced the truce, which raised concerns about the effectiveness of Hezbollah’s compliance with the agreement.
Gharb is reportedly one of many Lebanese army officers suspected of providing Hezbollah with inside information about military operations, raids, and patrols, which allowed the militant group to remove weapons and avoid detection. The leaks have raised alarms about the Lebanese army's ability to take control of the southern region, where Hezbollah has had a stronghold for years.
Despite some efforts by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to seize weapons caches from areas previously controlled by Hezbollah, Israeli intelligence sources argue that Gharb’s actions and those of other officers have allowed Hezbollah fighters and their weapons to remain dangerously close to the Israeli border.
While Hezbollah has been accused of seeking to delay Israel's withdrawal beyond the agreed 60-day ceasefire period, experts suggest that eradicating Hezbollah’s influence in southern Lebanon will be a slow process due to Hezbollah’s deep integration into local Shia communities and its political power in Lebanon.
The White House has called for a temporary ceasefire extension to allow for the safe return of displaced Lebanese citizens, but it remains uncertain whether the fragile peace can hold in the face of these allegations of collaboration between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah.
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