Lebanon stresses urgency of Israeli withdrawal from south under truce deal

Lebanon's new president Joseph Aoun has stressed to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the urgency of an Israeli military withdrawal as stipulated by a ceasefire deal that ended the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in November.

According to a statement by the Lebanese presidency on X, Aoun told Guterres during a meeting in Beirut on Saturday that continued Israeli breaches were a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and the agreed ceasefire deal.

The ceasefire, which took effect on November 27 and was brokered by the United States and France, requires Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days, and for Hezbollah to remove all its militants and weapons from the south.

Guterres said the UN would exert utmost efforts to secure an Israeli withdrawal within the set deadline under the ceasefire terms, according to the statement.

He had said on Friday the Israeli military's continued occupation of territory in south Lebanon and the conduct of military incursions in Lebanese territory were violations of a UN resolution upon which the ceasefire is based.

Despite the deal, Israeli forces have continued strikes on what they say are Hezbollah members ignoring the accord under which they must halt attacks and withdraw beyond the Litani River, about 30 km from the border with Israel.

Meanwhile, the US pledged $117 million in security assistance to Lebanon to support the implementation of a ceasefire with Israel, the State Department said.

The US State Department announced the security assistance package for Lebanon's armed forces, following a virtual donor meeting that took place on Thursday.

"For its part, the United States is announcing it will provide more than $117 million in new, expanded security assistance," the statement noted.

The aid aims to strengthen both the Lebanese Armed Forces and the country's Internal Security Forces in their efforts to implement the ceasefire agreement with Israel, which began on Nov. 26, 2024, the department said.