Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Friday that Israel might not withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon by a deadline set in its ceasefire with Hezbollah, and Washington appears prepared to push for an extension.
Under the deal reached in November, Israel is supposed to complete its withdrawal from the country by Sunday. Hezbollah militants must pull back to the north of the Litani River, and the Lebanese armed forces would patrol the buffer zone in southern Lebanon alongside U.N. peacekeepers.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the ceasefire “is based on the understanding that the withdrawal process could possibly continue beyond the 60 days.” The statement added that the Lebanese government hasn’t yet “fully enforced” the agreement, an apparent reference to the deployment of Lebanese troops.
Israeli officials have held talks in recent days with the United States, which brokered the agreement along with France.
The Trump administration believes that “a short, temporary ceasefire extension is urgently needed” in Lebanon, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement Friday.
“President Trump is committed to ensuring Israeli citizens can safely return to their homes in northern Israel,” while also supporting the new Lebanese government under President Michel Aoun, the statement said.
“All parties share the goal of ensuring Hezbollah does not have the ability to threaten the Lebanese people or their neighbors,” Hughes said. He said the U.S. is “pleased that the IDF has started the withdrawal from the central regions.”
There was no immediate response to Netanyahu’s statement from Lebanon or Hezbollah.
