The IDF indicated that it intended to remain in the neighboring country despite calls for withdrawal.
The Israeli military has published a map outlining what it described “Front Line of Defense” in southern Lebanon, despite calls for a full withdrawal after the ceasefire was announced.
The map shows a new deployment line several kilometers further from the border, including dozens of mostly abandoned villages days after the ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect.
Israel and Lebanon agreed on Thursday to a US-brokered 10-day ceasefire to end more than a month of fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, following the first direct talks between the two sides in decades on April 14. The agreement is intended to support broader US-Iran diplomacy, although Israeli troops will remain deployed in parts of southern Lebanon.
The deployment line shown on the map extends east to west about 5-10 km inside Lebanese territory from the border, where Israel says it plans to establish a buffer zone.
In a statement, the IDF outlined what it described “Front Line of Defense” It did not specify where its forces were operating in southern Lebanon, but the size of the area.
Israeli forces have destroyed villages in the area, saying the aim is to prevent “direct threat” To northern Israeli communities. It said five divisions and naval forces are currently operating south of the line to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and prevent attacks against northern Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that homes used by Hezbollah along the border would be demolished. “Any structures that pose a threat to our troops and any roads suspected of having explosives placed on them must be immediately destroyed.” He said the IDF has been ordered to use “full force” In Lebanon, even during a ceasefire, if it is threatened.
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Hezbollah, which boycotted the Washington talks, has signaled conditional support for the ceasefire, calling for a complete halt to attacks and an eventual Israeli withdrawal.
After Hezbollah fired rockets in support of Iran, Israel launched airstrikes on Beirut and other cities and expanded a security zone into southern Lebanon in early March. Tehran has since made it a condition of a comprehensive agreement with the US and Israel to end Israeli operations in Lebanon.
Since the beginning of March, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed nearly 2,300 people, injured more than 7,500 and displaced more than 1 million, according to Lebanese officials.
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