US confirms Israel, Lebanon have agreed to extend deadline for Israeli troop withdrawal to Feb. 18

ISTANBUL

The US confirmed Sunday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to an extension of the deadline for Israeli troops to withdraw from southern Lebanon until Feb. 18.

The agreement, which was reached after Israel requested more time to pull out beyond the 60 days stipulated, aims to ensure continued stability between the two countries.

"The Government of Lebanon, the Government of Israel, and the Government of the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023," the White House said in a statement.

The US pledged $117 million in security assistance to Lebanon to support the implementation of a cease-fire with Israel.

However, the Israeli army committed eight cease-fire violations in Lebanon last week, bringing the total to 629 breaches since an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement took effect on Nov. 27.

A fragile cease-fire has been in place, ending a period of mutual shelling between Israel and the Hezbollah group that began on Oct. 8, 2023 and escalated into a full-scale conflict on Sept. 23 last year.