Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Israeli troops will not comply with a Sunday deadline for them to withdraw from southern Lebanon, throwing the ceasefire with Hezbollah into crisis.

Confirming that Israel would not meet the 26 January deadline, the prime minister’s office said in a statement: “The IDF’s withdrawal process is conditional on the Lebanese army deploying in southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, while Hezbollah withdraws beyond the Litani [River].”

The decision to delay the withdrawal, made at an Israeli cabinet meeting on Thursday evening, follows several weeks of briefings suggesting Israel intended to remain in at least five outposts in Lebanon.