Hezbollah claims first attack on Israeli position since truce

Cars drive past buildings that were damaged or destroyed in Israeli strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs Hay el-Sellom neighbourhood on December 2, 2024. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah on Monday claimed an attack on an Israeli position, its first since a fragile ceasefire in the war in Lebanon took effect last week.

The ceasefire, which came into force on Wednesday, seeks to end a war that has killed thousands in Lebanon and sparked mass displacements in both Lebanon and Israel.

While the ceasefire had largely brought fighting to a halt, Israel has launched strikes against targets it says were violating the truce.

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Earlier Monday, Lebanon accused Israel of violating the truce, though Israel hit back to insist it was enforcing the agreement by responding to the militant group’s violations.

The fighting escalated after Israel moved its focus from Gaza to Lebanon in September to secure its northern border from Hezbollah attacks, dealing the Iran-backed Shiite Muslim movement a sequence of stunning blows.

“The aggressive actions carried out by Israeli occupation forces… represent a flagrant violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement,” said Lebanon’s powerful parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who helped mediate the truce on behalf of ally Hezbollah.

On Monday, Hezbollah claimed for the first time since the truce began an attack on an Israeli position in Kfar Shouba, which is located in a disputed territory on the Lebanon-Israel border.

The Israeli army said that Hezbollah launched two projectiles Monday towards the area of Har Dov, Israel’s term for the disputed Shebaa Farms.

‘Respect the ceasefire’

Also Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Saar in a call of “the need for all sides to respect the ceasefire in Lebanon”, the foreign ministry said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected accusations that Israel had violated the truce.

“We hear claims that Israel is violating the ceasefire understandings in Lebanon. On the contrary! Israel is enforcing them in response to Hezbollah’s violations, which demand immediate action,” Saar said in a statement.

He also said Hezbollah had attempted to move weapons in southern Lebanon and their presence “south of the Litani river is the most basic violation of the understandings”.

Under the deal, Hezbollah must withdraw its fighters from areas south of the river, and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south.

As part of the agreement, the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.

‘Threats’

Under the truce, a committee involving France, UN peacekeepers, Israel, Lebanon and chaired by the United States is tasked with maintaining communication between various parties and ensuring violations are identified and dealt with to avoid any escalation.

“We ask the technical committee formed to monitor the implementation of this agreement where it stands on ongoing violations… that have exceeded 54 breaches,” Berri added, urging it to “oblige Israel to stop its violations and withdraw from territories it occupies”.

Israel escalated its campaign against Hezbollah in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges launched by the militant group in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas and its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Israel’s army said on Monday it struck Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon to thwart what it says are “threats to Israeli civilians”.

Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike killed one person in the country’s south Monday, while the Lebanese army said an Israeli drone wounded a soldier in the east.

The official National News Agency said the person was killed in “a strike launched by an enemy drone… on a motorcycle” in the south Lebanon town of Marjayoun.

The Lebanese army in a statement said “an enemy drone struck an army bulldozer at a position, injuring one soldier” in the country’s eastern Hermel region Monday.

The Israeli military said it was “aware of reports regarding a soldier from the Lebanese military who was injured in one of the strikes and the incident is under investigation”.

Israel’s army said it had responded to “several acts by Hezbollah in Lebanon that posed a threat to Israeli civilians in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon” .

The military struck “several military vehicles that were operating in the area of a Hezbollah missile manufacturing site in Bekaa” and “struck terrorist infrastructure sites used to smuggle weapons adjacent to the Syria-Lebanon border in the Hermel area”.