Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on November 28 that it had carried out two strikes on Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, less than two days into a fragile ceasefire that was brokered by the United States.
The first strike targeted a Hezbollah facility used to hold medium-range rockets after identifying activity there, the military said, adding that the second strike hit two Hezbollah fighters who entered a site in southern Lebanon used to fire dozens of rockets at Israel.
“The IDF is deployed in southern Lebanon, acting and thwarting any violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the IDF said in a statement.
The IDF also said it fired warning shots in several areas of southern Lebanon throughout the day to disperse Hezbollah fighters attempting to reach no-go zones near the border. In one case, a drone struck near the suspects as a warning measure.
From its side, the Lebanese military accused Israel on November 28 of violating the ceasefire “several times” since it went into effect.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, two people were wounded by IDF fire in the town of Markaba, close to the border.
Five other Israeli attacks were reported in the towns of Wazzani and Kfarchouba, Khiyam, Taybe and agricultural plains around the town of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon.
Under the ceasefire agreement, which entered into effect early on November 27, the IDF will have 60 days to withdraw from the towns it currently occupies in southern Lebanon. During the same period, the Lebanese military will take responsibility for the region and a U.S.-led committee will be established to adjudicate complaints regarding potential ceasefire violations.
Hezbollah is also supposed to leave southern Lebanon, and its military infrastructure should be dismantled. The U.S. has also reportedly provided a side letter specifying Israel’s rights to respond to any violations of the ceasefire.
In his first interview since the start of the ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on November 28 that if Hezbollah was to violate the agreement, there would be “intensive war.”
The prime minister added he had given the IDF instructions that in the case of a “massive violation of the agreement,” the response would extend beyond “surgical operations like we’re doing now.”
The conflict between the IDF and Hezbollah, which broke out as a result of the war on the Gaza Strip, claimed the lives of 3,823 in Lebanon and at least 119 others in Israel.
While the U.S.-brokered ceasefire has led to a de-escalation, the conflict is not yet resolved. The recent strikes by the IDF and the warnings made by Netanyahu indicate that Israel may be actually preparing to resume the war on Hezbollah when the timing is suitable.
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