Israel says the ceasefire is not being enforced fast enough.

Lebanese group Hezbollah is demanding that Israeli forces complete the withdrawal of troops from the country’s south under the terms of an agreed-upon ceasefire, as the Israeli government says the deal is not being implemented fast enough.

Israel and Iran-aligned groups agreed to a ceasefire in November brokered by France and the United States, ending more than a year of conflict struggle.

According to the agreement, Israeli troops will withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah troops will withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days ending on Monday.

“In accordance with the provisions of the agreement, the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have replaced Hezbollah forces and there has been positive action,” Israeli government spokesman David Mensell told reporters on Thursday, referring to the U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon. personnel.

“We also made it clear that these actions are not fast enough and there is still much work to be done,” he said, confirming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue.

Menser did not directly answer questions about whether Israel had asked for an extension to the deal, nor did he say whether Israeli troops would remain in Lebanon beyond the 60-day deadline.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Koder reported from Beirut, Lebanon, that Israel’s ambassador to the United States said Israel was in discussions with the Trump administration to convince the United States to extend the deadline for at least another month.

“Israeli officials are discussing remaining in Lebanon, which would violate the ceasefire agreement to withdraw troops by January 26,” she said.

“Hezbollah has hinted that it will resume military operations. It says that if Israeli soldiers stay, they will become an occupying force and there will be ‘resistance,'” Cordell noted.

“It is debatable whether these threats are serious, given that Hezbollah was severely weakened during the Israeli war,” she added.

Hezbollah said on Thursday that Israel must completely withdraw its troops from Lebanon as the 60-day ceasefire agreement comes to an end, warning that any violation of the agreement will not be accepted.

French President Macron says: “We need a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops” explain Earlier this month, he spoke alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut.

The Lebanese government also told U.S. mediators that Israel’s failure to withdraw troops on time could complicate the deployment of Lebanese troops, which would be a blow to diplomatic efforts and the optimistic atmosphere in Lebanon since Aoun was elected president on January 9.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said on January 20 that if Israel fails to withdraw its troops, it will allow all Lebanese people to enter a new stage of “fighting the Israeli occupation through all possible means and tools and forcing it to leave our land.” .