Israel violating Lebanon ceasefire agreement with dozens of strikes on south
An Israeli strike on Haris, southern Lebanon, killed six people on Monday in a seeming breach of the ceasefire agreement between the two countries.
On that same day, Israel killed four people in Tallouseh and one person in Jdeidet Marjayoun, all in southern Lebanon.
The attacks on Haris and Tallouseh came as Israel said it was responding to “serious” breaches of the agreement by Lebanese group Hezbollah, who had fired two rockets into the Shebaa Farms, a strip of Lebanese land occupied by Israel.
In a statement following the attack, Hezbollah said it fired “warning” strikes as a response to Israel’s repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel had already breached its ceasefire agreement with Lebanon about 100 times since it went into effect last Wednesday, a source from the UN’s peacekeeping force told CNN on Monday.
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Several media reports also indicate that the US and France expressed their disapproval of Israel’s repeated violations, with Yedioth Ahronoth saying France had recorded 52 Israeli violations by last weekend.
Other Israeli media reports cited US disapproval of Israeli drones occasionally flying over Beirut, despite it being a breach of Lebanon’s airspace.
Israel repeatedly said it is responded to Hezbollah’s violations of the ceasefire, without providing evidence.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting in Nahariya, northern Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country hit over 20 targets across Lebanon.
"We are currently in a ceasefire, I note, a ceasefire, not the end of the war," he said.
"We have a clear goal to return the residents, to rehabilitate the north. We are enforcing this ceasefire with an iron fist, acting against any violation, minor or serious."
From their side, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri said on Tuesday that they were pursuing “diplomatic efforts” to face Israel’s violations.
“Diplomatic contacts are continuing and intensified yesterday to stop Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement and ensure the withdrawal from Lebanese border towns,” Mikati said.
Starting last Wednesday, the Israeli army has 60 days to withdraw from Lebanese territory while Hezbollah retreats to the north of the Litani river, leaving space for the Lebanese army to fill.
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