(Bloomberg) -- Lebanese troops are deploying in the town of Khiam as part of a US-brokered ceasefire with Israel designed to secure the former fiefdom of Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army said.
The truce began on Nov. 27, suspending more than a year of combat that had raged in parallel to Israel’s Gaza war. During a preliminary 60-day proving period, the Beirut government is sending the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) south with a view to replace the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which is due to withdraw back over the border.
Asked about the significance of the Khiam announcement, an IDF spokesperson said that, “writ large,” it marks the beginning of the first significant handover of a town conquered in Israel’s sweep against Hezbollah. But while an IDF brigade has concluded operations in Khiam, Israeli troops and tanks remain elsewhere in southern Lebanon, he said.
Also entering Khiam were UN peacekeepers from a force set up after the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006, the IDF said.
The ceasefire has been marred by occasional clashes, with Israel saying it has fired to prevent Hezbollah regrouping or rearming in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah claiming responsibility for a mortar salvo against an IDF position.
Both sides have said they remain committed to the deal, which envisages the LAF establishing an end to Hezbollah’s presence in southern Lebanon, in line with a 2006 UN Security Council resolution.
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