Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire accusing Hezbollah of breach

AP , Thursday 28 Nov 2024

The Israeli military said its warplanes struck southern Lebanon on Thursday after detecting alleged Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, marking the first airstrike since a ceasefire took effect following Israel's escalation in Lebanon.

UN Lebanon-Israel border
A United Nations flag waves on the top of a tower in a base of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the Israeli-Lebanese border as seen from northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. AP

 

There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon.

Israel alleged they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon’s National News Agency said two people were wounded.

The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah fighters are to withdraw north of the Litani River and invading Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers.

On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of Israeli strikes on Lebanon and Hezbollah strikes on army sites in Israel, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details.

Israel claimed it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.

The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.

A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as invading Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict that saw Israel escalate its military assault on Lebanon in September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.

More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.

Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.

In Menara, an Israeli settlement on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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