U.S. Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers and French Brig. Gen. Guillaume Ponchin viewed confiscated Hezbollah weapons during a visit to the Lebanese Armed Forces 5th Brigade headquarters in southwest Lebanon on Tuesday.
According to statements from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon, the weapons stockpiles, which they referred to as belonging to “unauthorized armed groups,” will be destroyed in the coming days.
Jeffers praised the LAF for what he described as its decisive actions, expertise and leadership, particularly commending its engineer corps for safely handling unexploded ordnance.
Jeffers, of the U.S. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), arrived in Beirut on Nov. 27 to oversee the implementation and monitoring of the 60-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire that went into effect the same day.
He is serving as a co-chair of the ceasefire’s implementation and monitoring mechanism alongside senior U.S. presidential envoy Amos Hochstein until a permanent civilian official is named.
The mechanism is chaired by the United States. It consists of the Lebanese and Israeli militaries, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and France.
Israeli forces have begun withdrawing from the Lebanese border town of Naqura, Hochstein told reporters during a visit to Beirut on Monday.
“The Israeli military started its withdrawal from Naqura … and back into Israel proper today, south of the Blue Line,” Hochstein said, according to AFP, referring to the U.N.-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel.
“These withdrawals will continue until all Israeli forces are out of Lebanon completely, and as the Lebanese army continues to deploy into the south and all the way to the Blue Line,” he said.
Since March 23, 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has based its headquarters in Naqura.
The Israeli withdrawal takes place midway into the ceasefire, which ended nearly 14 months of hostilities with the Iranian-backed terror group in Lebanon, which launched near-daily rocket, mortar and drone attacks in support of Hamas terrorists in Gaza after that group’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.
According to the agreement, Israeli forces are to gradually withdraw from Southern Lebanon, where they have been operating since early October. During the conflict, they reached as far north as the Litani River for the first time since 2000.
As the IDF withdraws, Lebanese army forces are to enter these areas and ensure that Hezbollah retreats north of the Litani, located some 18 miles north of the border with Israel.
Israel has carried out several strikes in southern Lebanon since the deal was signed to counter what it says are Hezbollah violations of the agreement.
“The IDF continues to be committed to the understandings regarding the ceasefire in Lebanon, is deployed in Southern Lebanon and will act to remove any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens,” the IDF said.
Lebanese sources: Israel plans to establish military bases
Hezbollah-aligned media in Lebanon claim that Israel, with U.S. backing, intends to establish three military bases in strategic locations in southern Lebanon, despite the imminent conclusion of the 60-day ceasefire agreement.
The bases, near Naqura, Jabal Balat and Al-Hamamas, would allow Israel to oversee wide areas and launch operations if necessary, according to the report.
IDF commander: Hezbollah’s return to border villages unavoidable
IDF Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin has expressed doubts about the Lebanese Army’s ability to meet ceasefire agreement goals and warned of continued Hezbollah influence and potential rocket fire, Channel 12 reported on Wednesday.
Despite stated plans for northern Israeli residents to return home by March 1, Gordin admitted in a recent conversation with Galilee residents that the IDF cannot prevent Lebanese citizens, including Hezbollah operatives, from returning to villages near the border.
The Lebanese Army has shown some progress in enforcement but continues to collaborate with Hezbollah, he said. Gordin acknowledged challenges in maintaining security and enforcing restrictions in sovereign Lebanese territory, emphasizing the need for operational freedom and vigilance.
Five Hezbollah weapons storage facilities dismantled
The IDF said on Wednesday that troops in Southern Lebanon had located and dismantled five Hezbollah weapons storage facilities.
The facilities contained over 200 mortar shells, loaded rockets launchers, military vests and a rocket launcher concealed underground, according to the IDF. The weapons were confiscated and destroyed.
Soldiers also discovered a truck concealed in mountainous terrain carrying three medium-range rocket launchers. The trucks and rockets were confiscated.
The IDF said that it was continuing “defensive activities to neutralize threats and dismantle terrorist infrastructure in accordance with the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”