Hezbollah Fires into Israeli-Held Border Zone, Breaking Ceasefire
Hezbollah launched projectiles into a disputed border area controlled by Israel on Monday, marking the group’s first attack since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began last week. The strike follows accusations from Lebanon that Israel has violated the ceasefire more than 50 times in recent days.
The Israeli military reported that two projectiles were fired toward Mount Dov, also known as the Shebaa Farms, an area where the borders of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel meet. Israel stated that the projectiles landed in open areas and caused no injuries.
Hezbollah, in a statement, described the attack as a “defensive and warning response” to what it called Israel’s “repeated violations” of the ceasefire. The group added that its attempts to alert mediators about these violations were unsuccessful in stopping them.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States and France, took effect on Wednesday and is meant to halt fighting for 60 days, ending more than a year of clashes between Hezbollah and Israel. However, since the truce began, Israel has carried out several strikes in Lebanon. On Monday, a drone strike killed a man riding a motorcycle in southern Lebanon, and another drone attack hit a Lebanese army bulldozer in the town of Hermel, injuring a soldier. The Lebanese army had previously stayed neutral in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
Israel has claimed the strikes are retaliatory actions in response to Hezbollah’s violations of the ceasefire, although it has not provided specifics on these violations.
Under the ceasefire agreement, both sides are expected to pull back from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is to retreat north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the Israeli-Lebanese border. However, the site of Monday’s drone strike, targeting the Lebanese army bulldozer, was located far north of the Litani River. On Saturday, airstrikes in Lebanon’s Marjayoun province killed two people, according to Lebanese state media.
Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, accused Israel on Monday of breaching the ceasefire 54 times. He cited incidents such as the demolition of homes in border villages, continuous overflights by Israeli reconnaissance drones, and airstrikes that have caused casualties.
Berri called for immediate action to stop these “flagrant violations.” The United States and France are overseeing the ceasefire’s implementation, but Israel has maintained that it reserves the right to respond to violations of the agreement.
