Committee overseeing Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire takes aerial tour of south Lebanon

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The international committee tasked with overseeing the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took a helicopter tour of south Lebanon on Friday – although without the Israeli representative.

A source in Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati's office told The National that the tour marked the first meeting of the members, adding that the Lebanese army was ready to deploy south of the Litani river within a short time.

“After this tour, there is a preparation to hold an official meeting of the committee within the next two days. It is likely that it will be held in Naqoura, with the presence of a representative of the Israeli army and another from the Unifil forces,” the source said, referring to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

“The ceasefire supervision committee will have a parallel centre in the [Israeli] city of Safed,” the source added.

The Lebanese army said that the flyover was intended to show the committee the state of the field south of the Litani.

US Maj Gen Jasper Jeffers, co-chairman of the panel, and French military representative Brig Gen Guillaume Ponchin were among those on board.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire deal, Israel has 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon while thousands of Lebanese army soldiers move into the area. Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure must move north of the Litani River.

Lebanese officials have accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire dozens of times since it came into effect last week.

“The government is anticipating the worst, and at the same time fulfilling its duty to abide by the implementation of the ceasefire provisions,” the official said.

At least 12 people have been killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire came into effect, with both sides accusing each other of breaches.

On Monday evening, Hezbollah launched two projectiles towards empty fields in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, viewed by Lebanon as its territory. No casualties were reported. Hezbollah said it was a defensive measure in response to Israel's repeated violations of the ceasefire.

In the southern city of Tyre, which was heavily attacked before the truce, the Lebanese cabinet will meet at the Benoit Barakat Barracks on Saturday.

In a bid to bolster its ability to deploy, the Lebanese Army has launched a recruitment drive. The US and France have been working to enhance the army's capabilities to help enable the deployment of 10,000 troops to the south as soon as possible.

Gen Mounir Shehadeh, who until recently was the Lebanese government's co-ordinator with Unifil, told The National that some 1,500 elite commandos had already been deployed from Beirut.

More than 1.2 million people were displaced across Lebanon by Israel’s war on the country. The majority of them were forced to leave their homes when Israel massively ramped up its bombardment in September.