The IDF said that the Lebanese army is doing better than ever before and is surprisingly confronting Hezbollah in some instances but that its performance is still far below where it needs to be.
The security cabinet met on Thursday to debate how long Israel should stay in southern Lebanon considering the Lebanese side hasn’t fulfilled its part of the agreement.
Yisrael Beytenu MK Avigdor Liberman said that an IDF withdrawal of southern Lebanon by Jan. 26 would be "an abandonment of the northern residents and an extreme act of irresponsibility."
Officials fear that the Hezbollah might pick up arms again if the IDF doesn’t withdraw to the agreed-upon points in southern Lebanon.
Aoun's media appearances are extremely rare, and he has not stated a view on Hezbollah's arsenal.
Sources with knowledge of the matter told the Post that the Biden administration believes the Lebanese Army has accelerated its deployment in southern Lebanon.
Explosions were heard in the Beit Lif area of southern Lebanon, Al-Akhbar reported.
This comes as Israel enters the second half of the 60 day ceasefire deal - the so-called "implementation phase."
The country's economic crisis has severely impeded the military, which is unable to provide sufficient supplies, training, and salaries for soldiers.
Earlier, the Lebanese Armed Forces said that it is preparing to deploy its forces to southern Lebanon, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
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