The IDF on Wednesday confirmed that it had withdrawn its troops from the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon in accordance with the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.
The Israeli military says it still remains deployed to other areas of southern Lebanon, and will continue to operate against any threats.
The Lebanese army said earlier in the day that it began to deploy troops to Khiam following the IDF withdrawal, in coordination with UNIFIL. It also warned Lebanese civilians not to approach the areas as it conducts scans of the town for unexploded ordnances.
The IDF has until late January to withdraw from all areas of southern Lebanon under the ceasefire deal.
The ceasefire deal came into effect on November 27. Both sides have accused the other of repeated violations. Under the terms of the agreement, the Lebanese army is to deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.
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Hezbollah is required to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south.
تمركُز وحدات الجيش حول بلدة الخيام
صدر عن قيادة الجيش – مديرية التوجيه البيان الآتي:
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تمركزت وحدات الجيش في خمسة مواقع حول بلدة الخيام – مرجعيون بالتنسيق مع قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان- اليونيفيل ضمن إطار المرحلة الأولى من الانتشار في المنطقة، بالتزامن مع انسحاب العدو… pic.twitter.com/1Q0tL85A3J
— الجيش اللبناني (@LebarmyOfficial) December 11, 2024
The Lebanese army said “units deployed in five positions around the town of Khiam” in coordination with UN peacekeepers and “within the framework of the first phase of deployment in the area, at the same time as the Israeli enemy withdrawal.”
“The deployment will be completed in the next phase, while specialized units” will survey the town to “remove unexploded ordnance,” it added.
US Central Command, known by its initials CENTCOM, later announced that the top American military officer in the Middle East visited Beirut on Wednesday to monitor the withdrawal.
Army General Michael Kurilla, CENTCOM’s commander, visited the monitoring headquarters in Beirut for the ceasefire and met with the commander of Lebanon’s armed forces, General Joseph Aoun, CENTCOM said in a post on X.
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Kurilla was there to monitor “the ongoing first Israeli Defense Forces withdrawal and Lebanese Armed Forces replacement in Al Khiam, Lebanon, as part of the agreement,” CENTCOM said.
“This is an important first step in the implementation of a lasting cessation of hostilities and lays the foundation for continued progress,” Kurilla said.
Earlier Wednesday, UN peacekeepers entered Khiam “to inspect the road and verify the Israeli enemy army’s withdrawal,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said.
The NNA said the peacekeepers found the body of a man “in the vicinity of his house” in the border town.
The news agency reported that ambassadors from the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt held a meeting Wednesday with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has scheduled a parliament session in January for lawmakers to elect a president.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borell in Beirut, November 24, 2024. (LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
Crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a head of state for more than two years amid deadlock between pro- and anti-Hezbollah blocs in parliament.
Envoys from the five countries who met with Berri have been working for months to facilitate the process.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes killed five people in the south on Wednesday. There was no comment from the IDF, which has said it will respond forcefully to any Hezbollah violations of the truce.
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“An Israeli enemy drone strike on the town of Ainata killed one person and wounded another,” the health ministry said. An “Israeli strike on the town of Bint Jbeil killed three people,” while a third “on Beit Lif killed one person,” it added.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati visited Madrid on Wednesday, meeting with his Spanish counterpart and discussing the terms of the ceasefire deal.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) meets with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on December 11, 2024. (HANDOUT /LA MONCLOA/ AFP)
The priority is for this agreement to become a “permanent ceasefire” and “pave the way for the full application” of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which stipulates that southern Lebanon must be free of arms that do not belong to the Lebanese state, a Spanish government statement read.
Adopted in August 2006, the resolution was key to ending the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 and paving the way for long-term stability along the border.
“We confirm Lebanon’s commitment” to this resolution, Mikati wrote on social network X, stressing the need for Israel to “respect the ceasefire decision and withdraw from the cities of southern Lebanon.”