Lebanon urges US, France to press Israel to halt truce violations
Lebanon has reportedly called on the United States and France to press Israel to halt breaching the ceasefire brokered last week to end the regime's military offensive against Lebanon.
On Monday, Israel carried out its largest wave of airstrikes across Lebanon since the ceasefire came into effect on November 27, killing at least eleven people.
On Tuesday, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri spoke to US and French officials and expressed concern about the state of the ceasefire, Reuters cited unnamed sources.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller claimed on Monday that the ceasefire "is holding" and that Washington had "anticipated that there might be violations.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar on Monday, saying both sides should adhere to the ceasefire.
However, deadly Israeli airstrikes on the country have raised fears that the ceasefire, agreed on November 26, could collapse.
The deal demanded an immediate halt to Israel’s aggression on Lebanese soil and gave the regime’s forces 60 days to withdraw from south Lebanon.
The regime’s minister of military affairs Israel Katz threatened Lebanon on Tuesday, saying that if the ceasefire with Hezbollah collapses, the military will no longer differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah.
Katz called on Beirut to “authorize the Lebanese army to enforce their part, to keep Hezbollah away from the Litani and to dismantle all the infrastructure.”
“If the ceasefire collapses, there will be no more exemption for the state of Lebanon. We will enforce the agreement with maximum impact and zero tolerance. If until now we have differentiated between Lebanon and Hezbollah, that will no longer be the case.”
Lebanon’s prime minister met Monday in the Capital Beirut with US General Jasper Jeffers, who will chair a committee tasked with monitoring the ceasefire.
France's representative to the committee, General Guillaume Ponchin, will reportedly arrive in Beirut on Wednesday and the committee would hold its first meeting on Thursday.
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