Meiss El Jibal  village in southern Lebanon —AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has  said Israel will not complete its full withdrawal from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline set under the ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. In the first public confirmation of such a delay, following weeks of speculation, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that “the IDF’s withdrawal process is conditional on the Lebanese Army deploying in southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, while Hezbollah withdraws beyond the Litani.”

Netanyahu says that since Lebanon “has not yet fully enforced” its obligations under the ceasefire, “the phased withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States.”  As per the ceasefire agreement, the original 60-day deadline was slated for Sunday, January 26, by which time Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

The Prime Minister said the terms of the deal were worded “with the understanding that the withdrawal process may continue beyond 60 days”.  The IDF is currently deployed to several villages in southern Lebanon, mostly in the eastern sector. The Lebanese Armed Forces have deployed to villages in the western sector in recent weeks as the IDF has withdrawn.

The Israeli military is preparing for the possibility of renewed hostilities with Hezbollah. The Iran-backed terror group warned yesterday that it would not accept the IDF staying in southern Lebanon beyond the 60 day limit. “Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by Lebanon, the gradual withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States,” the statement said.

US National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said on Friday the United States was working with partners on a “short” and “temporary” extension of the ceasefire. A Lebanese security source told CNN on Friday it had not received official notice of Israel’s plans to keep their forces in Lebanon beyond the 60-day ceasefire grace period. Hezbollah warned that if the Israeli military remained in Lebanon past Sunday, it would be “considered a brazen breach of the agreement”.