Gideon Sa'ar meets with Morgan Ortagus

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar met yesterday (Saturday) with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, to discuss the situation in the north, especially the ceasefire and the problem of Hezbollah.

In his statement on X, Sa'ar said: "Good meeting with Morgan Ortagus, President Trump's deputy special envoy to the Middle East, who had just come from Lebanon."

He said that "we were briefed by Major General Jasper Jeffers," the US representative on the northern ceasefire committee, "on the situation in Lebanon and discussed it and other regional issues."

Sa'ar then addressed the broader ramifications of the ceasefire following the IDF's blows against the terrorist group: "Following Israel’s achievements against Hezbollah there is an opportunity for a better future in Lebanon, and maybe even for better relations between our countries. Under President Trump's leadership and Israel's strength we are committed to working closely together to build a better future in the region."

Previously in the week, Ortagus visited Lebanon, with the aim of overseeing the Lebanese Army inspection of thirty sites in Lebanon suspected of containing Hezbollah weapons and other military facilities.

The IDF continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon along the border and target Hezbollah efforts to move soldiers or weapons into or around the area.

Although the original deadline for IDF withdrawal in accordance with the ceasefire passed on January 26, Israel requested and received an extension of the deadline to February 18, a little over a week from now.

The IDF argued that Hezbollah was violating the ceasefire "hundreds" of times in trying to remilitarize southern Lebanon in contravention of the ceasefire and UN Resolution 1701.

They also said that the Lebanese Army was deploying too slowly to take over the region and that a number of senior and junior officers sympathetic to Hezbollah were sabotaging the effort to demilitarize southern Lebanon.