Israel attacks and fires mortars from Hezbollah to tense ceasefire in Lebanon

Deadly Israeli airstrikes and a mortar attack by Hezbollah have raised fears that the ceasefire in Lebanon could collapse.

The Health Ministry said 10 people were killed in southern Lebanon on Monday night, after Israel carried out its biggest wave of air strikes since both sides agreed last week to end 13 months of conflict.

The Israeli military said it had attacked Hezbollah fighters, launch pads and infrastructure, and called on Lebanese authorities to stop what it called “hostile activities” by the group.

Hezbollah earlier fired two mortars at an Israeli military base in the disputed border area, saying they were a warning about what it considered “repeated violations” by Israel. No casualties were reported.

The United States, which along with France brokered the deal and is monitoring compliance, said that “in general” the ceasefire remained in place despite the violence.

Under the agreement, Hezbollah has 60 days to end its armed presence between the Green Line – the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel – and the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the north.

Israeli forces must withdraw from the area at the same time that the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeeping forces will be deployed there.

The conflict began on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza a day after a deadly attack by ally Hamas on southern Israel.

Israel launched an intense campaign of airstrikes and ground attacks against the Iran-backed group in late September, saying it wanted to ensure the safe return of 60,000 displaced northern Israeli residents. because of missile attacks.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,960 people have died in the conflicts, many of them civilians, and another million have been displaced from areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence.

Israeli authorities said more than 80 Israeli soldiers and 47 civilians were killed.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli warplanes carried out attacks on at least 11 areas in southern Lebanon on Monday night.

Among them is the town of Haris, where the Ministry of Health said six people were killed and two injured.

According to the ministry, four other people were killed and one person was injured in the town of Tallousseh.

The Israeli army said in a statement that it had “attacked Hezbollah terrorists, dozens of launch pads and terrorist infrastructure across Lebanon.”

It also said it hit a Hezbollah launcher in Berghoz, which was used to fire two mortars toward the disputed Mount Dov/Shebaa Farms area in the occupied Golan Heights. The bullets fell into open ground and no one was injured.

“Hezbollah’s rocket launches tonight constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” the organization warned.

“The State of Israel demands that the relevant parties in Lebanon fulfill their responsibilities and prevent hostile activities of Hezbollah from within Lebanese territory.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country is “determined to continue implementing the ceasefire and will respond to all violations by Hezbollah – small and large”.

Hezbollah confirmed it carried out the mortar attack, saying it was a “defensive and warning response” to what it described as “enemy Israel’s continued violations of the ceasefire agreement.” shoot”.

It said they included shooting at civilians and conducting airstrikes, as well as violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli aircraft.

Earlier on Monday, Lebanese authorities said two people were killed in Israeli attacks in the south of the country.

The Health Ministry said one person was killed in Marjaoun, where a motorbike was believed to have been targeted, while Lebanon’s State Security agency said a drone strike killed killed one of their employees on duty in Nabatieh.

The Lebanese army also said a soldier was injured when a drone targeted an army bulldozer near the northeastern town of Hermel, in the Bekaa Valley.

The Israeli army said it had “operated in southern Lebanon in response to several actions by Hezbollah in Lebanon that posed a threat to Israeli civilians, violating the understanding between Israel and Lebanon”.

“We are aware of reports regarding a soldier of the Lebanese army injured in one of the attacks and the incident is under investigation,” it added.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who helped negotiate the deal, said: “The aggressive actions carried out by the Israeli occupation forces… represent a blatant violation terms of the ceasefire.”

He added that Lebanese authorities had asked the committee established to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire – which includes the US, France, Israel, Lebanon and the United Nations peacekeeping force (Unifl) – to declare announced “ongoing violations… have crossed the line”. 54 violations.”

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, in a call that “all parties need to respect the ceasefire in Lebanon,” the Foreign Ministry said. .

Israel’s public broadcaster Kan also reported that US envoy Amos Hochstein had warned Israel about alleged violations.

In a video posted online, Saar said: “We hear accusations that Israel is violating ceasefire agreements in Lebanon. Opposite!”

He warned that Israel will take action when armed Hezbollah fighters are identified south of the Litani River or they attempt to move weapons.

“Their presence south of the Litani River is the most basic violation of understanding,” he said. “They must move north immediately.”

“I want to emphasize – Israel is committed to successfully implementing the ceasefire, but we will not accept a return to the previous situation. [before the conflict].”

US officials said the ceasefire was generally successful but “there is much more work to be done”.

“We went from dozens [Israeli] attacks down to one person a day, maybe two people a day,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “We’ll keep trying and see what we can do to get it down to zero.”