Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz today accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah of not respecting the terms of the ceasefire agreement and warned that his country could be “forced to act”.

Katz claimed that Hezbollah fighters have not withdrawn north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, about 30 kilometers from the Israeli border.

“If this condition is not met, there will be no agreement and Israel will be forced to act unilaterally to guarantee the safe return of the residents of the north (Israel) to their homes“, he added.

The cease-fire agreement went into effect on November 27, two months after Israel and Hezbollah went into open war. According to the text, the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers must be deployed in southern Lebanon and the Israeli army must withdraw within 60 days. It also provides for Hezbollah’s withdrawal to within about 30 km of the Israeli border.

Since the start of the ceasefire, the two sides have accused each other of repeated violations of it.

“The first condition for the implementation of the agreement is the complete withdrawal of the terrorist organization Hezbollah (up to the north of the Litani River), the destruction of all weapons and the dismantling of all terrorist infrastructure in the area by the Lebanese army, which has not yet been doneKatz said.