A multinational US-led committee tasked with overseeing the Israel-Hezbollah 2024 ceasefire agreement has held its first meeting this year, with the Lebanese army due to complete the initial stage of its plan to bring all weapons under state control.
For the third time, the Israeli and Lebanese delegations are expected to include civilian representatives alongside their military counterparts.
Israel has this week repeatedly bombed areas of Lebanon far from the border region where most of its strikes since the ceasefire have been focused.
Lebanese officials said the timing of the attacks ahead of the mechanism meeting was deliberate and an attempt by Israel to increase pressure.
Lebanon told the ceasefire monitoring mechanism meeting that it remains committed to the terms of the truce with Israel − including co-operation from Hezbollah − but that Israel is escalating its violations and refusing to withdraw from occupied positions, Lebanese parliamentary and political sources said.
A parliamentary source said Israel was seeking to “impose its agendas and priorities” on the ceasefire agreement by intensifying air strikes in recent days, despite the Lebanese government moving ahead with troop deployment plans.
“The government is working according to the army’s deployment plan, but Israel wants to reorder the priorities,” the source said.
Lebanon's army has completed more than 90 per cent of its deployment south of the Litani River, according to the source, who added that Israel’s continued hold on high ground and border areas was preventing full implementation of the agreement.
The source also said Israel's escalation since the ceasefire had failed to reassure residents of northern Israeli settlements, with “a large segment” yet to return.
A political source described Israel’s stance as “blackmail”, saying it was pressuring Lebanon and the monitoring mechanism itself by making the success of the process conditional on compliance with Israel’s vision, while expanding its strikes beyond southern Lebanon and failing to meet its own obligations under the ceasefire.
Israeli officials have claimed Hezbollah is trying to rebuild south of the Litani River and accused the Lebanese army of dragging its feet in the disarmament process.
These claims have been rejected by the Lebanese government and by Unifil, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
On Wednesday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun again said there was no truth to the rumours Israel was “spreading about the army not fulfilling its assigned tasks”.
Any delays were the fault of Israel, its repeated attacks and continued occupation of Lebanese soil, he added.
Last August, the Lebanese government took the unprecedented decision to disarm Hezbollah − the once-dominant force in Lebanon that was severely weakened by its latest war with Israel.
Army commander Gen Rodolphe Haykal will give his monthly progress update at a cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Hezbollah, which is also a political party, has rejected calls to disarm and says there can be no discussion over its weapons until Israel ceases its daily bombings and withdraws from the five points of Lebanese territory it continues to occupy, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The group has allowed the Lebanese army to dismantle its infrastructure south of the Litani River, as set out in the first stage of its plan. Any delays in this stage would likely lead to an escalation in Israeli attacks.
However, the following stages are expected to be far more difficult. The second stage would see all weapons brought under control south of the Awali River, further north from the Litani. Many of Israel's strikes this week have been in this area, including near the Mediterranean city of Sidon.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, whose country is the main backer of Hezbollah, told the Mehr news agency he will visit Lebanon on Thursday with an economic delegation.
Lebanon has sought to distance itself from Iran, with its Foreign Minister Youssef Raji last month declining an invitation to visit Tehran citing “current conditions”. He instead invited Mr Araghchi to visit Beirut for talks.
“Our relations are long-standing with all components of the Lebanese state and we are looking to expand these ties … We hope we can return to a very good relation,” Mr Araghchi said.
