A senior intelligence officer in the Lebanese army leaked sensitive military information to the Hezbollah terror group during the ceasefire with Israel, the British outlet The Times reported on Sunday, citing intelligence sources.

The chief of military intelligence for southern Lebanon, Suhil Bahij Gharb, gave Hezbollah highly classified and sensitive information in a security room managed by the US, France and UNFIL, an intelligence source said.

According to the report, Gharb is only one of dozens of military officials who leaked sensitive information on the IDF’s movements during the ceasefire. Gharb, who was tasked with maintaining peace with Israel during the ceasefire, was in the security room at the insistence of senior Hezbollah commander Wafiq Safa.

Kan News reported that there have also been leaks from the mid-level and lower echelons of the Lebanese army, where many soldiers have connections to Hezbollah terrorists. These soldiers not only leaked information to Hezbollah but the Lebanese army as a whole avoided conflict with Hezbollah and did not enforce the conditions of the ceasefire.

“Hezbollah uses internal, sensitive information regarding the Lebanese army to hide its actions from the international entities in charge of regional security,” the intelligence document states.

“The fact that the top echelon of the military maintains close ties with the US does not prevent co-operation between army officers, even on an individual basis, with Hezbollah,” Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, told The Times.

“Hezbollah’s survival hinges not on maintaining a military presence in the south but preserving the gains accrued to it in the Lebanese political system during the past three decades. Hezbollah’s operatives in the south Litani are local Shia residents, and I do not think Israel can force relocating them to the north [of the] Litani.”

Meanwhile, UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese army are supposed to be ensuring that Hezbollah terrorists are not present in southern Lebanon, especially south of the Litani River.

On Sunday morning, hundreds of Lebanese people bearing Hezbollah flags and photos of slain Hezbollah leader Nasrallah attempted to enter Shiite villages in southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese Army doing nothing to stop them.

Some of the “innocent” Lebanese civilians provocatively approached IDF troops, forcing them to open fire. Twenty-two were killed and over 80 were wounded.

The White House announced on Sunday that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon has been extended until February 18.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)