Israel and Hezbollah trade accusations of ceasefire violations
Item
1 of 2 A damaged vehicle sits near the Roman ruins, on the second day
of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the eastern city of
Baalbek, Lebanon November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
[1/2]A
damaged vehicle sits near the Roman ruins, on the second day of the
ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the eastern city of Baalbek,
Lebanon November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani Purchase Licensing Rights - Two sides trade accusations the day after deal went into effect
- Israel tank fire and airstrike hit southern Lebanon
- Biden to focus on Gaza; Israel keeps up strikes on the enclave
BEIRUT,
Nov 28 (Reuters) - 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 over a year of fighting.
Israel
said it also opened fire on Thursday towards what it called "suspects"
with vehicles arriving at several areas in the southern zone, saying it
was a breach of the truce with Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, which
came into effect on Wednesday.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah in turn 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 Lebanese army later accused Israel of violating the ceasefire several times on Wednesday and Thursday.
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.
All
the areas lie within 2 km (1.2 miles) 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 it had identified several
suspicious activities that posed a threat and breached conditions of the
ceasefire agreement.
"Any deviation from this agreement will be enforced with fire," said Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi.
Later
on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had
directed the military to be prepared for intense fighting if the
ceasefire is violated.
"We
are enforcing powerfully," Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel's
Channel 14. "But if needed I gave a directive to the IDF - be prepared
in case there is a violation of the framework of the ceasefire, for an
intense war."
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. (1500 GMT) and 7 a.m.
CEASEFIRE TERMS
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
its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza
Strip, in response to the deadly Hamas-led raid on southern Israel on
Oct. 7, 2023.
Israeli
strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 3,961 people and injured 16,520
others since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry said on
Thursday. The figures do not differentiate between civilians and
combatants.
Hezbollah
strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been
killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights, and in combat in southern
Lebanon, according to Israeli authorities.
Under
the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw
from southern Lebanon but neither side can launch offensive operations.
Netanyahu
waged the offensive against Hezbollah, saying Israelis in the north of
the country should be able to return after being evacuated because of
rocket fire from Lebanon.
Some 60,000 people evacuated from homes in the north have still not been directed to return.
Hezbollah
has said its fighters "remain fully equipped to deal with the
aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy" and that 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.
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.
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.
Reporting by Maya Gebeily and Tala Ramadan; additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch;
Writing by Michael Georgy, Alexandra Hudson and Rod Nickel;
Editing by Frances Kerry, Ros Russell and Diane Craft