The White House said that the agreement between Lebanon and Israel has been extended until February 18 after Israel failed to meet the deadline for the withdrawal of its troops from the southern part of the country, DPA and Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
"The agreement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the US, will remain in force until February 18, 2025", the White House said in a brief statement.
The US did not explicitly mention the ceasefire or France, which was closely involved in the negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and "Hezbollah", as well as its supervision. It was concluded under the auspices of former President Joe Biden, AFP recalls.
However, the French presidency reported that yesterday, French President Emmanuel Macron had asked, in a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel to "withdraw its forces that are still in Lebanon".
According to the agreement that ended the war on November 27, the Israeli army was supposed to complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon yesterday. After that, only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers can be deployed in the area.
But on Friday, Israel announced that the operation would continue beyond that date, saying that the agreement had not been fully implemented by Lebanon, AFP recalls.
According to the White House statement, officials from Lebanon, Israel and the United States will begin negotiations on the return of prisoners captured since the escalation of the conflict on October 7, 2023, DPA notes. Israel and the Lebanese "Hezbollah" agreed to a ceasefire at the end of November after more than a year of conflict. The United States is one of the countries tasked with monitoring compliance with the ceasefire.
The agreement was reached hours after Lebanon reported that Israeli forces had killed 22 people in clashes in the south of the country. The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 22 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 124 others were wounded in the Israeli attacks.
Qatar said on Monday that an agreement had been reached to release a civilian Israeli hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, the Associated Press reported, citing BTA, noting that the deal eases the first major crisis since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
A statement from Qatar, which is mediating talks between Israel and the Islamist group, said Hamas would hand over civilian hostage Arbel Yehud, along with two other hostages, by Friday. And today, Israeli authorities will allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.
A statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said the hostages would be released on Thursday and confirmed that Palestinians could move north today.
Under Saturday's ceasefire, Israel was supposed to begin allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza. But Israel delayed this because of Yehud, which Israel said was due to be liberated on Saturday.
"Hamas" in turn accused Israel of violating the agreement.
At the same time, thousands of Palestinians gathered to wait to move north.
The release of Yehud and two other hostages is in addition to those already scheduled for next Saturday, when three hostages are to be released, the AP notes.
In addition, the Hamas statement said that the armed group had handed over a list with the necessary information for all hostages to be released during the first phase of the six-week ceasefire.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed that the list had been received.