A former UN ambassador is not confident the ceasefire in Lebanon will hold (Image: Getty)
The ceasefire between and fighters has since it was signed on November 27, despite Israeli forces launching several drone and artillery strikes in Lebanon.
But , which was aimed at ending over 12 months of fighting between the two groups as part of the wider Middle Eastern conflict sparked by the war in , isn’t “durable” in the long-term, according to a former United Nations ambassador.
Mark Wallace, who is also CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran, said Hezbollah had been “forced into” the uneasy ceasefire by military pressure from but the Iran-backed militant group was now in a position to “rebuild and rearm”.
“There have been multiple ceasefire violations by Hezbollah, which has forced into implementing [it] by military force,” Mr Wallace told Express.co.uk.
“From ’s perspective, it’s not 2006 anymore when it would sit back and allow a threat to its border to metastasize while relying on the Lebanese Armed Forces and UN peacekeepers to [end hostilities]. It is rightfully and proactively enforcing the resolution.”
Israeli leader Netanyahu has warned of a widening of the conflict in Lebanon if the ceasefire breaks (Image: Getty)
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Hezbollah sparked the conflict when it began launching rockets, drones and missiles into last year in solidarity with Hamas militants fighting in the Gaza strip.
The weeks since a ceasefire was agreed have been characterised by accusations of a breach from both sides, with Hezbollah firing projectiles at Israeli forces days after it was agreed and carrying out air strikes across Lebanon at the beginning of December, supposedly in retaliation to their opponents’ violations.
Under the deal, Hezbollah was given 60 days to withdraw its fighters and resources from southern Lebanon, with also told to withdraw to their side of the border within the same timeframe.
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Last week, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the truce was “largely speaking, holding”.
“We’ve gone from dozens of strikes down to one a day, maybe two a day,” he told reporters. “We’re going to keep trying and see what we can do to get it down to zero.”
However, Mr Wallace is not optimistic that such a withdrawal is possible.
“We’ve seen this movie before. Iran’s leadership would not have approved this ceasefire without being confident in its ability to circumvent restrictions so it can supply Hezbollah with arms and funds to enable the reconstruction of its terror apparatus,” he said.
“And the Lebanon Armed Forces has proven unable and unwilling to disarm Hezbollah. This does not make for a durable, long-term ceasefire.”