Jeffers tours Khiam, lauds army as Israeli violations continue

The co-chair of the ceasefire monitoring committee, U.S. general Jasper Jeffers, toured the southern town of Khiam on Friday, accompanied by the commander of the Lebanese Army’s 7th Brigade, Brig. Gen. Tony Fares.

Israeli forces had recently withdrawn from the town, allowing for the deployment of the Lebanese Army as per the ceasefire agreement.

A U.S. Embassy statement said Jeffers inspected Lebanese soldiers deployed in the South Litani Area and that the trip included a stop in Khiam, "the first border region to fully transition back to Lebanese control since the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities on November 27, 2024."

"I am incredibly impressed by the professionalism and dedication of the LAF (Lebanese Army). They are working around the clock to provide security and dismantle unexploded ordnance so Lebanese citizens can safely return home," Jeffers said.

In the last few weeks, the Lebanese Army cleared over 9,800 pieces of explosive ordnance from more than 80 locations.

Israel’s violations meanwhile continued on the ground in south Lebanon and through surveillance drones over Beirut and its suburbs.

“Smoke is still bellowing from the vicinity of the mosque of the town of Bani Hayyan after the detonation that was carried out by enemy forces there,” the National News Agency reported.

Israeli forces also torced two homes in the town after searching them and staged bulldozing works in the valley that is located west of the town, NNA said.

Israeli bulldozers had also razed residential neighborhoods in the coastal border town of Naqoura, which delayed the entry of the Lebanese Army into the town.

The Israeli army also combed the area between the towns of Bani Hayyan and Tallousa with medium- and heavy-caliber machine guns, after having dynamited areas in Bani Hayyan and Kfarkela overnight.