BEIRUT: Most military sites belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon have been placed under Lebanese army control, a source close to the group said on Saturday.A November 27 ceasefire that ended more than a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war, stipulated that only United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanon’s army should be deployed in the south. The deal required the Iran-backed militant group to dismantle its remaining military infrastructure in the south and move its fighters north of the Litani River, which is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the Israeli border.”Out of 265 Hezbollah military positions identified south of the Litani, the movement has ceded about 190 to the army,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Under the ceasefire, Israel was to complete its troop withdrawal from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops in five places it deems strategic.Israel has continued to attack what it says is Hezbollah infrastructure or members of the group in Lebanon.In a speech on Saturday marking the anniversary of the outbreak of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, President Joseph Aoun renewed his appeal for Hezbollah to lay down its weapons. “Because we all unanimously believe that any bearing of weapons outside of state authority… would jeopardise the interests of Lebanon… it is time for us all to say: ‘Lebanon can only be protected by the state, the army and the security forces,'” he said.The United States deputy special envoy for the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, discussed disarming Hezbollah with senior Lebanese figures during a visit to Beirut last weekend, a Lebanese official said. In an interview with Lebanese television channel LBCI, Ortagus said that “we continue to press on this government to fully fulfil the cessation of hostilities, and that includes disarming Hezbollah and all militias”.She said it should happen “as soon as possible”.The United States chairs a committee, which also includes France, tasked with overseeing the ceasefire.Following the attack against Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza in October 2023, Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel in support of the Palestinians.Months of cross-border exchanges with Israeli forces degenerated into full-blown war last September, leaving Hezbollah severely weakened.According to Lebanese authorities, more than 4,000 people were killed in the hostilities.
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