Report: "Quiet understanding" IDF to remain in Lebanese outposts until this happens

There is reportedly a "quiet understanding" between Israel, Lebanon, and the United States that the IDF will remain in place at five strategic outposts on the Lebanese side of the border until the situation stabilizes, according to Naharnet.

Defense Minister Israel Katz has already said that Israel has a "green light" to remain in the five outposts "indefinitely" and IDF Spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said that "We will leave small amounts of troops deployed temporarily in five strategic points along the border in Lebanon so we can continue to defend our residents and to make sure there's no immediate threat. This is a temporary measure until the Lebanese armed forces are able to fully implement the understanding."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has repeatedly opposed any continued IDF presence on Lebanese soil, saying recently that "there can be no peace without the liberation of the last inch of our occupied land that is internationally-recognized and U.N.-documented."

However, Aoun has also ruled out ending the IDF presence by force, saying that Lebanon cannot afford another war after the recent devastation caused by the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

Although the ceasefire remains in place, the IDF continues to occasionally launch strikes inside Lebanon against identified threats by Hezbollah members, and it has continued to attack efforts to smuggle weapons via the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has unfrozen $95 million in aid for the Lebanese Army in order to strengthen its power compared to that of Hezbollah, which was seriously weakened in the recent war, losing most of its projectile arsenal, its entire senior leadership, hundreds of terrorist members, and large amounts of money.

The Lebanese Army is supposed to be in charge of keeping southern Lebanon demilitarized - including free of armed Hezbollah members and terrorist infrastructure - though its efforts in this direction have been hampered by tensions in the north and possible sympathies with Hezbollah within the army itself.