[For the first time since a ceasefire went into effect last week, Hezbollah has fired two projectiles toward Israeli-occupied territory, responding to repeated Israeli strikes since the agreement. The projectiles, which landed in an open area, were fired on Monday and no one was injured, according to the Israeli military.
Israel has carried out daily strikes in Lebanon since Thursday, the day after a ceasefire went into effect, killing one person in a strike in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said the strikes were in response to several acts by Hezbollah in Lebanon that posed a threat to Israeli civilians, in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
The US and French governments have warned Israel that they believe the Israeli military has violated the terms of the ceasefire, according to CNN affiliate Kan and Israeli news outlet Ynet. A source with the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, says Israel has breached its ceasefire agreement with Lebanon “approximately 100” times since the truce went into effect last week.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told his French counterpart that his country is enforcing the ceasefire, which stipulates Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the Israel-Lebanon border area, rather than violating it. However, Hezbollah accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire by “firing on civilians and airstrikes in different parts of Lebanon, resulting in the martyrdom of citizens and injuries to others.”
The IDF said the two Hezbollah projectiles were fired toward Shebaa Farms, known in Israel as Har Dov (Mount Dov), which under international law is considered occupied Syrian territory. After Israeli officials threatened retaliation, Lebanese state media said Israeli airstrikes hit the Al-Tuffah district in the south and the southern Nabatiyeh Governorate, killing nine people and injuring at least three more.
Both sides have accused each other of violations, and the escalating tensions risk endangering the agreement altogether. A senior Israeli official said the military intends to aggressively and unilaterally act against any ceasefire violations by Hezbollah. Unilateral Israeli military action to enforce the ceasefire was not enshrined in the agreement between Israel and Lebanon, but the US provided Israel with a separate letter that provided assurances about Israel’s right to act under certain scenarios.
The State Department spokesperson said the ceasefire has not broken down and that the US and France had set up a mechanism to look at all reports of violations of the ceasefire and deal with them through the channels that the mechanisms set up. The department official would not say whether the US had determined that any of the alleged violations were violations, saying that the work was ongoing.
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