Israeli forces will remain in 5 locations in Lebanon after Tuesday’s pullout deadline, official says – PBS NewsHour
Source: PBS
Melanie Lidman, Associated Press
Melanie Lidman, Associated Press
Sally Abou AlJoud, Associated Press
Sally Abou AlJoud, Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon near the border after Tuesday’s deadline for their full withdrawal, an Israeli official said Monday.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
WATCH: On the ground with U.N. forces in Lebanon as Israeli withdrawal deadline looms
Lebanon’s government has opposed any further delay in the Israeli pullout under the ceasefire agreement that ended fighting with the Hezbollah militant group. There was no immediate comment from Lebanese or Hezbollah officials. Earlier on Monday, an Israeli strike in Lebanon killed a senior Hamas leader.
The news came as Israelis were marking the 500th day since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which ignited the war in the Gaza Strip and rippled across the region, eventually setting off a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The war in Gaza was paused last month when a fragile ceasefire took hold. The first phase of the truce is set to end in early March, and it’s unclear whether it will be extended to allow the release of dozens more hostages, or if Israel will renew its military offensive against Hamas with U.S. support.
Separately, an anti-settlement watchdog said Monday that Israel has issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the occupied West Bank.
READ MORE: Israel’s Netanyahu signals he’s moving ahead with Trump’s plan to move Palestinians from Gaza
Peace Now says the development of 974 new housing units would allow the population of the Efrat settlement to expand by 40% and further block the development of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem. Hagit Ofran, who leads the group’s settlement monitoring, said construction can begin after the contracting process and issuing of permits, which could take another year at least.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state and view the settlements as a major obstacle to peace, a position with wide international support.
President Donald Trump lent unprecedented support to the settlements during his previous term. Israel has also steadily expanded settlements during Democratic administrations, which were more critical but rarely took any action to curb them.
Israel has built well over 100 settlements across the West Bank, ranging from hilltop outposts to fully developed suburban communities, with apartment blocks, malls and parks.
Over 500,000 settlers live in the occupied West Bank, which is home to some 3 million Palestinians. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while Palestinians live under military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers.
The Israeli government views the West Bank as the historical and biblical heartland of the Jewish people and is opposed to Palestinian statehood, while human rights groups have accused Israel of discrimination against and oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank.
Peace Now, which favors a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of pressing ahead with settlement construction while dozens of hostages captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack languish in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
“The Netanyahu government is operating ‘on steroids’ to establish facts on the ground that will destroy the chance for peace and compromise,” it said in a statement.
Israelis held protests across the country on Monday calling for the ceasefire to be extended so that more hostages can be released. Demonstrators blocked a main intersection in Tel Aviv, and some protesters planned to fast for 500 minutes in a show of solidarity with the captives.
“All I care about, all I want, is for my friends to return. There were six of us living in unbearable conditions, in a six-square-meter (65-square-foot) space. I got out, but they are still there,” Ohad Ben Ami, a hostage who was released a week and a half ago, told Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday. He added that hostages don’t count days while in captivity, they count minutes and seconds.
READ MORE: Israel and Hamas complete their latest exchange with 2 weeks left in ceasefire’s first phase
Hamas is set to continue the gradual release of 33 hostages during the current phase of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces have pulled back from most parts of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.
But the two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas would release more than 70 remaining hostages — around half of whom are believed to be dead — in ex
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