Israel: Hezbollah has turned a mosque into a weapons depot

On Friday, February 5, Israel released information about a vehicle carrying weapons belonging to Hezbollah found under a mosque in southern Lebanon. According to the Israeli army, Hezbollah has created a weapons depot in this mosque where hundreds of mortar shells, explosives, rockets, and other military equipment have been discovered. The Israeli army emphasized that it will continue its efforts to eliminate threats in southern Lebanon and maintain ceasefire agreements between Israel and Lebanon. Israel and Western countries have repeatedly accused Hezbollah, Hamas, and other proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran of exploiting civilian infrastructure for military purposes. This announcement by the Israeli army came just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces would not fully withdraw from southern Lebanon at the end of the 60-day deadline set in the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. According to this statement, the process of withdrawing Israeli forces is conditional on the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south of the country and the full and effective implementation of the agreement's provisions while Hezbollah withdraws to the north of the Litani River. Netanyahu further stated that since Lebanon has not yet fully fulfilled its commitments under the agreement, the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon will continue 'in full coordination with the United States.' The agreement, mediated by the United States and France, requires the dismantling of Hezbollah's weapons, members, and infrastructure from southern Lebanon, the deployment of the Lebanese army, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area within 60 days, by Monday, February 8. According to Netanyahu's statement on Friday, the provisions of the agreement were structured with the understanding that the process of withdrawing Israeli forces from southern Lebanon might take longer than 60 days. According to the Times of Israel, the text of the ceasefire agreement states that the process of withdrawing Israeli forces from southern Lebanon 'should not take more than 60 days.' In this context, Israel criticized the slow implementation of the ceasefire agreement with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon on Thursday, February 4, and called for the swift execution of the agreement's provisions. David Manser, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, confirmed progress, including the deployment of the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, but stated that this process has not been sufficiently rapid and that much more needs to be done. In response, Hezbollah rejected any extension of Israeli forces' presence beyond the 60-day deadline, describing it as a 'clear violation' of the ceasefire agreement and warned that it would use 'all tools and methods guaranteed by international charters' to reclaim these areas from Israel. This Iranian proxy group also urged Lebanese political forces to ensure the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement with Israel. The Israeli army is currently stationed in several villages in the eastern part of southern Lebanon. In recent weeks, Lebanese army forces have been deployed in the western part of this area following the withdrawal of the Israeli army. Hezbollah has unilaterally launched rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel since the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 last year. In response, Israel has conducted severe attacks against this group's positions in Lebanon and Syria, killing hundreds of members of this major proxy of the Islamic Republic in the region, including its leader and senior military commanders, such as Hassan Nasrallah, Foad Shukr, Ibrahim Aqil, and Hashem Safi al-Din. Hezbollah's rocket and drone attacks on Israel have displaced over 60,000 residents of northern Israel and killed dozens of its citizens. Israeli officials have repeatedly emphasized that the country will use all its capabilities to secure its northern borders and facilitate the return of displaced civilians to their homes.