Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon’s Naqoura leaves behind massive destruction
The Lebanese military has asked residents of the coastal town in the south of the country not to return home for their own safety, after Israeli forces departed the area and left a sea of devastation behind.
In spite of the danger, Mayor Abbas Awada returned to inspect the destruction, the AFP news agency reports.
“Naqoura has become a disaster zone of a town … the bare necessities of life are absent here,” he was quoted as saying, standing in front of the damaged town hall.
The mayor said he was worried that a lack of funds, after years of economic crisis, would hamper reconstruction. “We need at least three years to rebuild,” he said, as a small bulldozer worked to remove rubble near the municipal offices.
Lebanese soldiers deployed in coastal Naqoura after Israeli troops pulled out of the country’s southwest on January 6, but they remain in the southeast of the country.
Mayor Abbas Awada stands amid the destruction in Naqoura
Israeli military reports more operations in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military says its forces continue to “conduct sweeps” in areas across southern Lebanon despite the deadline of the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah that requires Israel to stop its occupation.
The Israeli army said the aim is to “remove threats, while maintaining understandings between Israel and Lebanon” as the Lebanese government, Hezbollah and the UN call on it to leave south Lebanon.
Several underground Hezbollah bunkers were located and destroyed in the past week, according to the Israeli military, which added that it found a cache of weapons inside a mosque along with explosives.
This comes amid Israeli media reports that the country’s military intends to maintain its occupation of parts of Lebanese territory, and has informed the new US administration.
The 60 day implementation is maturing this Sunday.
Israeli army will not withdraw from Lebanon by 60-day ceasefire deadline: PM’s office
Israel’s military will not fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Monday, when the 60-day deadline set by the ceasefire agreement ends, according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office cited by Israeli army radio.
The military will not withdrawal by this date, the prime minister’s office said, because it claims Lebanon has not fully enforced its side of the agreement.
Yesterday, Hezbollah demanded that Israeli forces respect the terms of the November ceasefire deal, which calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon over a 60-day period.
But Israel’s military has said it will continue to “conduct sweeps” in areas across southern Lebanon to “remove threats” despite the deadline.
‘A lot of uncertainty’ after Israel declares it will delay Lebanon withdrawal
Over the past two months, Israeli forces have withdrawn from a number of Lebanese villages and towns along the border, but they are still present in dozens of other villages.
There’s no clear map to show whether the area has been cleared of Israeli troops. Because time and time again, we’ve seen them moving deep inside Lebanon and move back.
The Israeli military says they’re there to clear the area of Hezbollah weapons, but Lebanon says what they’re doing violates the ceasefire by destroying homes and infrastructure.
There’s been a lot of speculation in recent days about whether Israel will respect the agreement and withdraw from Lebanon. Now, the Israeli prime minister’s office confirms they will not be withdrawing.
What we understand is that Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri was informed in the past 24 hours by the US-led ceasefire monitoring committee that the Israelis are going to delay their withdrawal.
It wasn’t a good meeting, and Berri told them that thousands of people are going back to their homes regardless of consequences. We are in uncharted waters now and there’s a lot of uncertainty.
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