The U.S. said on Sunday that the agreement between Lebanon and Israel would remain in effect until Feb. 18, after Israel said on Friday it would keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline set out in a U.

Any prolonged Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon could breathe new life into Hezbollah, a group that was founded to liberate Lebanon from Israeli occupation and has portrayed itself as the only force capable of protecting Lebanon’s borders,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested that Israel might not withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon by a deadline set in its ceasefire with Hezbollah.

The White House said that a ceasefire involving Israel and Lebanon had been extended in a Sunday statement. The ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, announced by former President Biden in November,

Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire until Feb. 18 to give Israeli troops more time to withdraw, the Trump administration said Sunday, while a Gaza dispute with Hamas over a hostage was resolved.

Israel kept thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday as it accused Hamas of violating a fragile ceasefire.