“ENFORCE” TRUCE
Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on Oct 8, 2023, in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
In September last year, Israel dramatically scaled up its campaign against Hezbollah, heavily bombing the group’s strongholds in south and east Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, and later sending in ground troops.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Saturday condemned the resumption of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“This aggression must end. We cannot allow this to continue,” Qassem said in a televised address.
Israel’s military said on Friday that two “projectiles” were fired towards Israel, with one intercepted and the other falling inside Lebanon.
It was the second time rockets had been launched at Israel from Lebanon since the ceasefire, after an earlier incident on Mar 22.
Hezbollah denied involvement on both occasions.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said Lebanon’s “government bears direct responsibility for any fire toward the Galilee” and if it does not enforce the ceasefire, Israel “will enforce it”.
Lebanon’s military later on Friday said it had identified the site of the rocket launch, just north of the Litani River.
On Sunday Lebanon’s General Security agency said it had arrested several suspects.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel was due to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by Feb 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops in five places it deems “strategic”.
The agreement also required Hezbollah to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30km from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
The Lebanese army has deployed in the south as the Israeli military pulled back.
