PARIS — French officials have hailed significant progress in Hezbollah's disarmament and the Lebanese military's deployment south of the Litani River, despite Israel's insistence on maintaining troops at five strategic points in southern Lebanon beyond the Feb. 18 withdrawal deadline.

"The Lebanese forces had carried out a series of missions aimed at removing and destroying arms and other military equipment [belonging to Hezbollah] discovered on the ground, throughout of the zone [south of the Litani]," French Brig. Gen. Guillaume Ponchin said Friday at a press briefing. Ponchin, who represents Paris in the American-French deconfliction mechanism that oversees the Nov. 27 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, noted that the Lebanese military's deployment is "an unprecedented maneuver that will take time."

Deconfliction mechanism

The ceasefire agreement mandates Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah's disarmament and withdrawal north of the Litani River, and the deployment of Lebanese military and security forces throughout the south. Initially, Israel was set to fully withdraw by Jan. 27, but an extension approved by the Trump administration pushed the deadline to Feb. 18. By that date, Israel had vacated most of Lebanon but remained at five locations inside the country overlooking Israeli towns, citing security concerns. Israel has said it will remain at these sites until it is confident no threat can emerge from them against the northern localities.