The Israeli military said its air force struck a facility used by Hezbollah to store mid-range rockets in southern Lebanon on Thursday, after both sides accused each other of breaching a ceasefire that aims to halt more than a year of fighting.
Israel said it also opened fire on Thursday on what it called “suspects” with vehicles arriving at several areas in the southern zone, saying it was a breach of the truce with Hezbollah, which came into effect Wednesday.
The Lebanese army said Israel violated the ceasefire with Hezbollah several times on Wednesday and Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah also accused Israel of violating the deal.
“The Israeli enemy is attacking those returning to the border villages,” Fadlallah told reporters, adding, “there are violations today by Israel, even in this form.”
The exchange of accusations highlighted the fragility of the ceasefire, which was brokered by the United States and France to end the conflict, fought in parallel with the Gaza war. The truce lasts for 60 days in the hope of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities.
Israel’s airstrike on Thursday was the first since the truce took effect on Wednesday morning. Lebanese security sources and the Al Jadeed broadcaster said it took place near Baysariyah, north of the Litani River.
The ceasefire deal stipulates that unauthorized military facilities south of the Litani River should be dismantled, but does not mention military facilities north of the river.
Earlier, Israeli tank fire hit five towns and some agricultural fields in southern Lebanon, state media and Lebanese security sources said, saying at least two people were wounded.
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All of the areas lie within two kilometres of the Blue Line demarcating the border between Lebanon and Israel, in an area the Israeli military has announced as a no-go zone along the border, even after the deal was agreed.
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.”
Residents told they could return home Wednesday
Lebanese families displaced from their homes near the southern border have tried to return to check on their properties. But Israeli troops remain stationed within Lebanese territory in towns along the border, and Reuters reporters heard surveillance drones flying over parts of southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military on Thursday renewed a curfew restricting the movement of residents of southern Lebanon south of the Litani River between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. local time.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be holding in Lebanon, bringing some calm to the region, after more than a year of fighting. It’s also allowed thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians to flee for home, despite warnings from the Israeli military to hold off.
The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group in years. But Israel is still fighting the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, the top interlocutor for Lebanon in negotiating the deal, had said on Wednesday that residents could return home.
Israeli forces instructed not to allow residents to return
Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon but neither side can launch offensive operations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to villages near the border.
Hezbollah has said its fighters “remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy.” Its forces will monitor Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon “with their hands on the trigger.”
The group has been weakened by casualties and the killing of its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders by Israel.
Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon is leading to a fresh push for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, both from the White House and from Israelis.
More than 3,960 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — more than 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.
The Israeli military said on Thursday it was ending some protective restrictions that had limited the size of gatherings in parts of central and northern Israel.
Announcing the Lebanon accord on Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he would now renew his push for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and urged Israel and Hamas to seize the moment. Months of efforts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress, and negotiations are currently on hold.
Israeli military strikes killed at least 21 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said, as forces stepped up their bombardment of central areas and tanks pushed deeper into the north and south of the enclave.