Lebanon asked U.S., France to press Israel to halt truce breaches, say sources

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Top Lebanese officials have urged Washington and Paris to press Israel to uphold a ceasefire, after dozens of military operations on Lebanese soil that Beirut has deemed violations, two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Deadly Israeli strikes on south Lebanon and Hezbollah rocket launches on an Israeli military post on Monday have put a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the two in an increasingly fragile position less than a week after it came into effect.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally who negotiated the deal on behalf of Lebanon, spoke to officials at the White House and French presidency late Monday and expressed concern about the state of the ceasefire, the sources said.

Neither the French presidency nor the foreign ministry were immediately available to comment. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar on Monday, saying both sides should adhere to the ceasefire.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters on Monday that the ceasefire "is holding" and that the U.S. had "anticipated that there might be violations".

The truce came into effect on Nov. 27 and prohibits Israel from conducting offensive military operations in Lebanon while requiring Lebanon to prevent armed groups, including Hezbollah, from launching attacks on Israel. It gives Israeli troops 60 days to withdraw from south Lebanon.

A monitoring mechanism chaired by the United States is tasked with monitoring, verifying and helping enforce the truce, but it has yet to begin work.

Berri on Monday urged it to "urgently" ensure Israel halts its breaches, saying Beirut had logged at least 54 Israeli violations of the ceasefire so far.

Israel says its continued military activity in Lebanon is aimed at enforcing the ceasefire and does not violate its obligations under the truce.

Mikati on Monday met in Beirut with U.S. General Jasper Jeffers, who will chair the monitoring committee, and stressed the need for Israeli troops to swiftly withdraw.

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that France's representative to the committee, General Guillaume Ponchin, will arrive in Beirut on Wednesday and that the committee would hold its first meeting on Thursday.

"There is an urgency to finalise the mechanism, otherwise it will be too late," the source said, referring to Israel's gradual intensification of strikes despite the truce.

Miller said the monitoring mechanism would begin its work "in the coming days."

At least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest day since the ceasefire came into effect.

They included six people in the southern town of Hariss and another four people in the southern town of Taloussa, according to Lebanon's health ministry.



(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily; Editing by Peter Graff)