US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today that the ceasefire in Lebanon is holding up well, despite recent incidents, and that the monitoring mechanism is working as planned.
"The ceasefire is holding up well and we use the mechanism we have in place when concerns are raised about alleged or suspected violations," the US secretary of state said when asked about it at a press conference in Brussels.
The ceasefire that came into effect on November 27 ended the open war between Hezbollah and Israel that had lasted for more than two months.
It killed more than 4.000 people in Lebanon and destroyed the strongholds of the pro-Iranian organization.
Nine people were killed in Israeli strikes on villages in southern Lebanon on Monday as Israel announced it was attacking dozens of Hezbollah targets in retaliation for the extremist group's attack on a disputed area on the Lebanon-Israel-Syria tri-border, which it said was the first since ceasefire entered into force.
"Basically I believe that both sides, which means Israel and Hezbollah, through the Lebanese government, wanted and continue to want a ceasefire," Blinken said, AFP reported.
The US-chaired commission, which includes France, UN peacekeepers, Israel and Lebanon, is responsible for maintaining communication between the various parties and to identify violations and respond to such incidents to avoid escalation.
"Any ceasefire, if it is to be respected, requires a mechanism to verify it, to respond to any concerns or allegations of violations," Blinken stressed, adding that if one side violates the ceasefire, it is communicated and then a dialogue is held. with sides.
He said it had already happened.
"The mechanism that we have established with France to ensure that the ceasefire is effectively monitored and enforced is working and we want to ensure that it continues to work," the US secretary of state concluded.
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