In this image captured from Marjayoun, dense smoke billows from explosions as Israeli forces allegedly demolish structures in the border town of Khiam in southern Lebanon on December 1, 2024. Photo: AFP
On Monday, Lebanese authorities reported that at least two individuals were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, as a ceasefire that ended over a year of hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah seemed increasingly precarious. The truce, which took effect on November 27, mandates that Israel will refrain from conducting offensive military operations against civilian, military, or other state targets in Lebanon, while Lebanon will prevent any armed groups, including Hezbollah, from launching operations against Israel.
Both Lebanon and Israel have already accused each other of violating the ceasefire, and on Monday, Lebanon declared that these violations had resulted in fatalities. According to Lebanon's health ministry, one person was killed in an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun, approximately 10 km (six miles) from the border with Israel. Lebanon's state security reported that an Israeli drone strike killed a member of its force while on duty in Nabatieh, 12 km from the border. State security deemed this a 'flagrant violation' of the truce.
Lebanon's parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, who mediated the ceasefire on behalf of Hezbollah, accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire. 'The aggressive actions carried out by Israeli occupation forces... represent a flagrant violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement,' he stated in a release. Berri also called on the committee overseeing the ceasefire with Israel to compel Israel to halt ceasefire violations and withdraw from Lebanese territories, according to a statement on his office's Facebook page.
Although Israeli officials did not immediately respond to the reports, they have since issued statements regarding attacks in Lebanon. On Monday, the Israeli military announced it had targeted military vehicles operating near Hezbollah's military infrastructure in Lebanon's Bekaa. Troops also attacked military vehicles used for transferring weapons near the border between Syria and Lebanon in Hermel, with the Israeli military acknowledging that a Lebanese soldier was injured in one of its strikes.
Public broadcaster Kan and other Israeli media outlets reported on Monday that US envoy Amos Hochstein, who brokered the ceasefire after weeks of shuttle diplomacy, had cautioned Israel against alleged violations.
(With contributions from AFP)
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