Lebanon urges US, France to help 'accelerate' Israeli withdrawal

Lebanon's prime minister called on the United States and France to help speed up Israeli forces' withdrawal from his country nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The United States and France, along with Lebanon, Israel and United Nations peacekeepers, make up the committee tasked with maintaining communication between the parties and ensuring ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.

As part of the truce agreement, the Lebanese army and peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army pulls out over a period of 60 days.

"In order for the army to be able to fully accomplish its missions, the committee must... put pressure on the Israeli enemy to bring an end to all the violations" of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in the town of Khiam during a tour of the south.

"It is necessary to put pressure on the parties to the ceasefire agreement, namely the French and the Americans, to accelerate the process before the expiration of the 60-day period," he added, going on to accuse Israel of "dragging its feet".

The truce in southern Lebanon went into force on November 27 after more than a year of cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that began with the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

The exchanges of fire ultimately escalated into all-out war and the entry of Israeli troops into south Lebanon.

Since the truce took effect, both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.

Mikati also said Monday that he wanted to resolve any questions over the Blue Line -- the UN-demarcated boundary between Lebanon and Israel -- "so there will be no justification for any Israeli occupation of our land".

He said he was also working with "the World Bank, the European Union, Arab countries and our international partners to create a trust fund" for reconstruction efforts.

The World Bank estimated in October that the fighting had caused physical damage amounting to "at least $3.4 billion" in Lebanon.