Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Israel’s military says it won’t complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday (January 26, 2025) as outlined in its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah militants.

The confirmation came Saturday (January 25, 2025) while another fragile ceasefire — between Israel and the Hamas militant group — saw a second release of hostages from Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody.

Also Read | Israel, Hezbollah accept ceasefire deal brokered by U.S.

The ceasefire deal for Lebanon gave both sides 60 days to remove their forces from southern Lebanon and for the Lebanese army to move in and secure the area. Israel says Hezbollah and the Lebanese army haven’t met their obligations, while Lebanon accuses the Israeli army of hindering the Lebanese military from taking over.

The truce for Gaza continued as Hamas released four female Israeli soldiers held captive during the 15-month-long war in Gaza in return for 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The next exchange is expected on Feb. 1. The truce also halted the fighting in Gaza for at least six weeks.

But Israel says it won’t allow displaced Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza as expected by Sunday, because a civilian hostage who was supposed to be released by Hamas hadn’t been freed on Saturday. Mediators are trying to resolve the dispute.

The war was sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people. The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 47,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities, which don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike in Hamra, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon, November 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

At least one Israeli airstrike shook the Lebanese capital of Beirut moments after U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to ceasefire deal.

At least 24 people have been killed in strikes across Lebanon, according to local authorities, as Israel signalled it aims to keep pummelling Hezbollah before the ceasefire is set to take hold at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday (November 27, 2024). Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens across the country’s north.

An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel, in support of the Palestinian militant group. More than a year of fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south.

In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.