Israel says Hezbollah is endangering ceasefire and security
Palestinians react as they inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, June 3, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Israel accused Hezbollah of rebuilding its military presence in southern Lebanon, Reuters reported on November 11th. Israel stated that this is a breach of the ceasefire agreement made with Hezbollah in November 2024.
Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said Hezbollah units were operating south of the Litani River, in what Israel described as a clear violation of the ceasefire terms. He confirmed that Israeli forces had carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets in that area.
Lebanon’s leadership has said it is Israel that continues to breach the deal. President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam cited Israel’s occupation of five hilltop positions in southern Lebanon, alongside a pattern of air strikes and ground incursions that have caused deaths and damage inside Lebanese territory. Lebanese officials have repeatedly condemned the Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel has repeatedly breached the ceasefire agreement with recent examples including a drone attack on November 10th and a case of Israeli fire near UN peacekeeping troops in Lebanon’s south, as reported on October 28th.
These incidents are just recent cases of hundreds of other violations by the Israeli military that Israel itself has acknowledged.
Speaking at a briefing, Shoshani said Hezbollah was attempting to smuggle weapons into Lebanon through Syria and other routes. “We are working to prevent that from happening and to block the ground routes from Syria into Lebanon to a high level of success, but they still pose a threat to us,” he said.
He added that Israel remained committed to the ceasefire but warned that it would not allow the situation to deteriorate to “the reality of October 7 (2023) with a threat of thousands of terrorists on our border within walking distance of our civilians.”
Hezbollah has denied rebuilding its military capacity in the south. The group has not fired at Israel since the ceasefire took hold, and Lebanese security officials said it has not interfered with Lebanese army operations to locate and seize weapons.
In a televised speech, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, who became the leader after Hassan Nazrallah was killed by an Israeli strike, said the group was committed to the 2024 ceasefire and that there was “no alternative” to the agreement.
He said that if Israel withdrew, ended its attacks on Lebanon, and released Lebanese detainees, security would return to the border area. Qassem reaffirmed Hezbollah’s opposition to full disarmament, saying Israel’s strikes “cannot continue” and that “there is a limit to everything.”
Israel has urged Lebanon’s army to increase its efforts to disarm Hezbollah, including through searches of private homes in the south.
Hezbollah’s influence, though diminished after the war marked by Israeli incursions and air strikes, remains significant among Lebanon’s population and within its complex sectarian system.
The standoff between Israel and Hezbollah now rests on mutually irreconcilable demands. Israel insists on Hezbollah’s full disarmament before any withdrawal, while Hezbollah maintains it will not lay down its weapons until Israel ends its incursions, releases Lebanese detainees, and allows reconstruction by withdrawing its forces from the south.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains embroiled in a long-running corruption trial. And with fragile ceasefires in place across the region, questions are emerging over whether renewed confrontation with Hezbollah will serve to deflect attention from his domestic troubles while advancing his broader political and territorial ambitions of a Greater Israel.
Reuters, Maghrebi.org
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