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Frustrated by alleged violations of the cease-fire agreement, the Israeli army has invaded Lebanon.
An Israeli raid on Wadi al-Hujer, 8 kilometers north of the UN blue line marking the border between Israel and Lebanon, was accompanied by heavy artillery on Thursday, the Lebanese government reported, prompting the evacuation of nearby villages.
A Lebanese army official said the raid would push Israel’s land occupation in the area to its highest level.
Israel’s advance is halfway through a 60-day deadline for a US-brokered ceasefire, which calls for the withdrawal of the Israeli army and the Hezbollah militant group from southern Lebanon.
The war was sparked by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, after Hezbollah fired into Israel “in solidarity” with the Palestinians.
Despite the truce aimed at ending the more than year-long war, Israeli forces have continued to strike the militant group’s fighters and military assets in the southern region. Lebanese officials say Israeli forces have killed at least 28 people since the ceasefire began.
Demolition of houses along the Israeli-occupied border using explosives or bulldozers has also been a daily occurrence since the ceasefire agreement came into effect.
UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, expressed concern over continued destruction of “residential areas, agricultural land and road networks” by Israeli forces.
“UNIFIL continues to call for the immediate withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces and the deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces (instead of Hezbollah) in southern Lebanon, in order to fully implement Resolution 1701. It’s a way,” the statement said. Added Thursday.
So far, Israel has pulled out of the Lebanese village of Qiyam before moving forward with the Lebanese army, who are committed to complying with the terms of the deal.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati this week condemned Israel’s “delay” to withdraw from the country, before his government formally protested to the United Nations Security Council, Israel’s violations of the 816 ceasefire agreement, including house demolitions.
The US-led international monitoring mechanism has failed to officially assess Israeli military action to address any violation of the agreement.
Israeli officials confirmed that the military operation in southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah fighters, caches and underground bunkers, was authorized under the two-month implementation period of the ceasefire.
During a visit to an Israeli military base in southern Lebanon on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed not to allow “Hezbollah militants to return to southern villages and re-establish terrorist infrastructure.”
“If Hezbollah doesn’t leave the Litani (River) and doesn’t try to violate the cease-fire agreement – we will go ahead with it,” Katz added.
Hezbollah has yet to respond to Israel’s actions in Lebanon, analysts say, after the group’s year-long war crippled its capabilities and removed most of its senior leadership, not enough preparation has been made to restart the war.
A Western diplomat familiar with the Lebanese situation said the ceasefire was due to the weakening of the militant group. The diplomat added: “Hezbollah will be fine with a ceasefire, it is in no position to confront Israel again.”
Cartography by Steven Bernard
