Lebanon’s already fragile ceasefire monitoring mechanism is coming under growing internal strain, even as officials prepare for another round of talks later this month, informed sources told Nidaa Al-Watan.

The committee, known as the “mechanism,” is due to convene on February 25, but there is still no agreement on the framework or format of the meeting, or whether it will be limited to military officials or expanded to include a diplomatic delegation. The sources said Lebanon plans to put forward “something new” during the session.

Setting a date, however, does little to resolve what the sources described as a “structural crisis” within the mechanism itself. That crisis, they said, was one of the reasons behind the postponement of the January 14 round, along with shifting regional and international developments.

In closed-door discussions, the Lebanese side has been pushing to broaden the agenda. During the December 3 and 19 meetings, Lebanon proposed the return of residents to southern areas as a central entry point for building an economic zone, Nidaa Al-Watan reported.

The sources said the Lebanese delegation also pressed for the mechanism to formally recognize what the Lebanese Army has already achieved south of the Litani River. Israel rejected that demand. Washington later told the Lebanese side it had managed to persuade Tel Aviv of the importance of such recognition, paving the way for a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In it, Netanyahu described the efforts of the Lebanese government and army to disarm Hezbollah as “an encouraging beginning, but by no means sufficient.”

Lebanon, the sources stressed, remains firmly committed to the mechanism. It serves, first, as a point of internal convergence among official authorities, including Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. Second, they said, the alternative would be catastrophic: given the imbalance of power, the Lebanese state has no viable options outside the mechanism, unlike the other parties. At the same time, the sources ruled out the possibility that Israel would oppose its continuation.

Hezbollah has claimed it has implemented the ceasefire agreement south of the Litani River, but the sources said the committee’s work there is far from complete. They accused the group of failing to facilitate the army’s mission and of refusing to hand over any maps of its military facilities. Instead, they said, the Israeli delegation has been supplying documentation — including photos and videos — showing Hezbollah weapons depots and military infrastructure south of the Litani.

In that context, the sources placed responsibility on Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem for undermining the army’s mission. They said his speeches and warnings of a potential “civil war” do not serve Lebanon’s official position, which is seeking to keep the specter of war at bay while securing the return of residents to their towns and villages.

On the broader diplomatic front, the source did not rule out the possibility that negotiations between Lebanon and Israel could eventually be elevated to a higher level, leading to a formula or agreement that would end the current stalemate. The general dynamics in the region, the source said, could help facilitate such an outcome.