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04-12-2024
JERUSALEM/ BEIRUT: Israel said it struck targets in Lebanon on Monday evening after vowing to retaliate for an attack by Hezbollah on a military post, with both sides accusing each other of violating last week’s ceasefire.
At least nine people were killed by Israeli strikes on two southern Lebanese villages, according to the country’s public health ministry.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck Hezbollah targets and infrastructure “throughout Lebanon” while reiterating its commitment to the ceasefire agreement.
Hezbollah said it was responding to Israeli “violations” and said it carried out a “defensive warning” strike, firing mortars at an Israeli army position in an area occupied by Israel.
Israel said there were no injuries in Hezbollah’s strikes on the Mount Dov area, a disputed region on the Israel-Lebanon border known internationally as Shebaa Farms.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Hezbollah attack as “a severe violation of the ceasefire”, vowing that Israel would “respond forcefully”.
When the ceasefire deal was first announced, Netanyahu said his country would not hesitate to strike if Hezbollah broke the terms.
Monday’s violence is an indication of the fragility of the recently agreed truce, aimed at ending 13 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Last week, the US and France said the agreement would “cease the fighting in Lebanon, and secure Israel from the threat of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations operating from Lebanon”.
Hezbollah has been given 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon while Israeli forces must withdraw from the area over the same period.
A ceasefire deal to end 13 months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has taken effect.
The US and France said the agreement would “cease the fighting in Lebanon, and secure Israel from the threat of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations operating from Lebanon”.
Hezbollah has been given 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon while Israeli forces must withdraw from the area over the same period.
This is what we know about the ceasefire from the agreement itself and official briefings.
US President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday night that it was “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities”.
The 13-point agreement between the governments of Israel and Lebanon and not Hezbollah also says both countries are “prepared to take steps to promote conditions for a permanent and comprehensive solution”.
It states that the Lebanese government will “prevent Hezbollah and all other armed groups in the territory of Lebanon from carrying out any operations against Israel”.
Israel, meanwhile, will “not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, or other state targets, in the territory of Lebanon”. The basis of the deal, it notes, is the “full implementation, without violation” of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last war in 2006.
The resolution required, among other things, Hezbollah to remove its fighters and weapons from the area between the Blue Line, the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel and the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) to the north.
Israel said that was never implemented, allowing Hezbollah to build extensive infrastructure in the area, while Lebanon said Israel’s violations included military flights over its territory. (Int’l News Desk)
