US general praises Lebanese Army for enforcing Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire
Major General Jasper Jeffers, who is overseeing the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, hailed the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) for acting “decisively, rapidly and with clear expertise” in its efforts to enforce the peace deal.
“The LAF is the legitimate security provider for Lebanon and continues to demonstrate to me and the rest of the Mechanism it has the capability, intent and leadership to secure and defend Lebanon,” Jeffers said on a visit to the LAF’s 5th Brigade in southern Lebanon with French Brigadier General Guillaume Ponchin.
“The engineer corps in particular is full of true professionals, removing and rendering safe hundreds of pieces of unexploded ordnance every week,” he added.
U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers, the Co-Chairman of the Cessation of Hostilities Implementation Mechanism, and French Brigadier General Guillaume Ponchin visited the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) 5th Brigade headquarters in southwest Lebanon, Jan. 7. Generals Jeffers and Ponchin… pic.twitter.com/btcsJUWeS9
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 7, 2025
Yet you let israel drop more ordnance on Lebanon every day...
UN, Lebanon call for $371m in humanitarian aid
Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, said on Tuesday that $371.4m in additional funding was “urgently required to sustain life-saving efforts” until March 2025, to “prevent further deterioration of an already dire situation”.
“While the cessation of hostilities offers hope, over 125,000 people remain displaced, and hundreds of thousands more face immense challenges rebuilding their lives,” Riza said, announcing the joint appeal with the Lebanese government.
The call builds on the UN’s initial appeal in October for $426m, when all-out war flared between Israel and Hezbollah, sending more than a million people fleeing their homes in Lebanon.
About $250m was raised through that appeal, according to the UN.
Supporting this week’s call for aid, Lebanon’s Minister of Environment, Nasser Yassin, said the country’s “institutions and public sector also require significant support to prevent the collapse of basic and social services”.
One-third of Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that he sees hope for a “durable peace” in Lebanon, adding that about one-third of Israeli forces have departed since a truce was struck between Israel and Hezbollah.
That agreement stipulates that Israeli forces must exit Lebanon by January 26, but recent reports in Israeli media have stated that they may stay beyond that deadline in violation of the agreement.
Israel has also continued to carry out near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, as well as the destruction of civilian homes in areas under its control.
Israel says it is enforcing the agreement by forcing Hezbollah to withdraw its forces to the north of the Litani River, about 30km (19 miles) from the Israeli border.
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