Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Israel threatened on Tuesday to resume war in Lebanon if its truce with Hezbollah collapsed, and said this time its attacks would go further and target the Lebanese state itself, after the deadliest day since the ceasefire agreement last week.
In its strongest threat since reaching a truce ending 14 months of war with Hezbollah, Israel said it would hold Lebanon responsible for its failure to disarm militants who violated the truce.
“If we return to war, we will act with force, we will go further, and the most important thing they must know: that there will no longer be an exemption for the State of Lebanon,” he said. said Defense Minister Israel Katz.
“If until now we separated the Lebanese state from Hezbollah… it will no longer be (like this),” he said during a visit to the northern border area.
Despite last week’s truce, Israeli forces have continued strikes in southern Lebanon against what they see as Hezbollah fighters, ignoring the agreement to stop the attacks and withdraw north of the Litani River. , about 30 kilometers from the Israeli-Lebanese border.
On Monday, Hezbollah bombed an Israeli military post, while Lebanese authorities said at least 12 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.
Katz called the Hezbollah attack a “first test” and described the Israeli strikes as a strong response.
Lebanon asks US, France to pressure Israel into truce
The government in Beirut must “allow the Lebanese army to impose its role, keep Hezbollah out beyond Litani and dismantle all infrastructure,” Katz said.
“If they don’t and this whole deal collapses, then the reality will be very clear.”
Senior Lebanese officials urged Washington and Paris to pressure Israel to respect the ceasefire, after dozens of military operations on Lebanese soil that Beirut considered violations, told Reuters on Tuesday two high-ranking Lebanese political sources.
WATCH | Lebanon and Israel exchange accusations of violating the ceasefire:
At least nine people were killed and three injured overnight in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, as the Israeli military said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets across the country. The strikes came shortly after Hezbollah accused Israel of violating the ceasefire and firing missiles at an Israeli military position in the contested Shebaa Farms area.
The sources said that interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah who negotiated the deal on behalf of Lebanon, spoke Monday evening with officials from the White House and the French presidency.
Mikati, quoted by the Lebanese News Agency, said diplomatic communications had intensified since Monday to end Israeli ceasefire violations. He also indicated that a recruitment campaign was underway by the Lebanese army to strengthen its presence in the south.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matt Miller told reporters Monday that the ceasefire was “holding” and that the United States “anticipated that there might be violations.”
Neither the French presidency nor the foreign ministry were immediately available for comment. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot spoke with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar on Monday, saying both sides should adhere to the ceasefire.
The truce took effect on November 27 and prohibits Israel from carrying out offensive military operations in Lebanon, while requiring Lebanon to prevent armed groups, including Hezbollah, from launching attacks against Israel. He gives Israeli troops 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
International monitoring
A mission chaired by the United States is tasked with monitoring, verifying and helping to enforce the truce, but it has not yet begun its work.
Berri on Monday called on the mission to “urgently” ensure that Israel ends its violations, saying Beirut had recorded at least 54 Israeli ceasefire violations so far.
Israel said its continued activity in Lebanon was aimed at enforcing the ceasefire.
The Lebanese Mikati met on Monday in Beirut the American general Jasper Jeffers, who will chair the monitoring committee.
Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that France’s representative to the committee, General Guillaume Ponchin, would arrive in Beirut on Wednesday and that the committee would hold its first meeting on Thursday.
“There is an urgent need to finalize the mechanism, otherwise it will be too late,” the source said, referring to the gradual intensification of Israeli strikes despite the truce.
