The Israeli military announced Thursday that it had launched attacks on Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah’s attempts to reestablish operations in the region.
Avichai Adlai, the Israeli Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesman, issued a warning to residents of several villages in the area ahead of the airstrike.
“You are in a building used by Hezbollah. For your safety, you are asked to evacuate immediately at least 500 meters away from the building. Staying near these buildings puts your life at risk,” Adley said.
The US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel will take effect in November 2024, ending more than a year of cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The fighting began when Lebanese militants launched attacks on Israeli positions the day after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which Hezbollah claimed was an act of solidarity.
Under the agreement, Israel was to cease offensive operations and gradually withdraw from its positions in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah was to withdraw its heavy weapons north of the Litani River. However, the group denies that Israel continues to attack targets in Lebanon because of Hezbollah’s ceasefire violations.
Two Israeli officials said the Israeli Security Cabinet was scheduled to convene Thursday night. One of the officials told CNN that Lebanon would also be among the topics discussed.
Officials said Israel had been warning in recent weeks of what it called “Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm and reestablish its offensive capabilities.”
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held security talks with some of his ministers to discuss Israel’s response. Israeli sources familiar with the discussions said the military recommended launching a major operation against Hezbollah’s alleged rearmament attempts.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said last week that Israel “cannot bury its head in the sand” as Hezbollah “continues to intensify its reconstruction and rearmament efforts.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has made headlines in recent days after suggesting that Lebanon has “no choice” but to negotiate directly with Israel.
“Lebanon has no choice but to negotiate, because there are three spheres of action in politics: diplomacy, economics and war. If war doesn’t yield results, what else can we do?” he was quoted as saying by local media, widely believed to be referring to Israel.
In a statement Thursday, Hezbollah accused Israel of repeatedly violating a ceasefire agreed to in November 2024 and “blackmailing” the Lebanese government into recognizing Israel.
“(Lebanon) has no interest in succumbing to aggressive threats or being drawn into political negotiations with Zionist enemies. Such negotiations are not in the national interest and pose an existential risk to Lebanon’s substance and sovereignty,” it said, affirming the group’s “legitimate right to resist occupation and aggression.”
Israel’s military action comes days after US special envoy Tom Barak said Lebanon was a “failed state” run by “dinosaurs”. Barrack expressed doubts about whether authorities would be able to disarm Hezbollah, which has far more weapons than the Lebanese national army.
“In our opinion, it’s not reasonable to say to Lebanon, ‘Forcibly disarm one of the political parties.’ Everyone is deathly afraid of going into civil war. The idea is: What can we do to keep Hezbollah from using those rockets and missiles?” he said.
