Israel launches first air strike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of violating ceasefire

Kareem Chehayeb and Julia Frankel
| Associated Press

Beirut — The Israeli military said Thursday that warplanes opened fire on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility; this was the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire was established between Israel and Hezbollah.

A few hours after the Israeli army announced that it opened fire on people trying to return to certain parts of southern Lebanon, no statement has yet been made about the deaths in the Israeli air strike. Israel said they violated the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two people were injured.

The succession of events has created uneasiness about the agreement brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire that envisages the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants north of the Litani River and the return of Israeli forces to their side. of the border. Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers will patrol the buffer zone.

On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah after more than a year of bloody conflict, Lebanon’s state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, near the border, but gave no further details. Israel said it also opened artillery fire at three other points near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Associated Press reporter near the border in northern Israel heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.

In the statement made by the Israeli army, it was stated that “Many suspects who violated the ceasefire conditions and came to some parts of southern Lebanon with vehicles were detected.” He said that soldiers “opened fire on them” and that they would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

Israeli officials said forces would be withdrawn gradually to ensure the implementation of the agreement. Israel warned people not to return to areas where troops were deployed and said it reserved the right to attack Hezbollah if it violated ceasefire terms.

A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops will gradually deploy to the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday brought an end to a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas’ attack on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, when the Lebanese militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.

Israel retaliated with air strikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before escalating into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza continues and there is no end in sight.

According to Lebanese health officials, more than 3,760 people, mostly civilians, died as a result of Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict. The clashes killed more than 70 people in Israel, more than half of them civilians, and dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.

Nearly 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began returning to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese army and the Israeli army to stay away from certain areas. About 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned, and communities near the northern border remain largely abandoned.

In Menara, a border Israeli community overlooking Lebanon, nearly three-quarters of the homes were damaged, some with roofs collapsed and interiors burned. Several residents were seen packing their belongings before leaving again on Thursday.

Frankel reported from northern Israel. Associated Press writer Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, contributed.

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