BEIRUT - Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, stated on Thursday to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) commander that the army continues its deployment in the south of the country as planned under the cease-fire agreement that took effect on Nov. 27, 2024.

“The Lebanese army continues its deployment in the villages and localities of the South from where Israel has withdrawn,” declared the head of state, himself a former commander in chief of the forces, to General Aroldo Lazaro during a meeting in Baabda. He added that the municipal elections and those for moukhtars “will indeed take place on May 24 throughout the South.”

The municipal elections were supposed to take place in 2022 but were postponed multiple times, notably due to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, following the opening of a “support front” in Gaza by Hezbollah in 2024. Since then, many border villages have been destroyed, some almost entirely, but Lebanese authorities have repeatedly committed to holding the elections there.

The cease-fire agreement between Lebanon and Israel that came into effect last Nov. 27 after months of renewed conflict between the two sides notably provides for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from South Lebanon and the deployment of thousands of Lebanese soldiers south of the Litani River, along with the withdrawal of Hezbollah from this zone bordering Israel.

In this context, the Lebanese Army has announced the recruitment of thousands of new soldiers and has been continuing its deployment in South Lebanon for months. Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues to occupy at least five positions it deems “strategic” on Lebanese territory and conducts nearly daily strikes on Lebanon, primarily in the South and along the border with Syria.