(Beirut) A man was killed Tuesday in an Israeli strike on a border village in southern Lebanon, the day after the most serious violations of the ceasefire which came into force on November 27.
Posted at 11:27 a.m.
Updated at 12:24 p.m.
The truce ended an open war of more than two months between Hezbollah and Israel, which left nearly 4,000 dead in Lebanon and devastated strongholds of the pro-Iranian formation.
“An Israeli enemy drone struck the town of Shebaa, killing one person,” the Health Ministry said.
The National Information Agency (Ani, official) specified that it was a “shepherd”.
When requested, the Israeli army indicated that it had carried out a “strike on Tuesday against a terrorist who posed a threat to Israeli soldiers” in southern Lebanon.
On Monday, eleven people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, according to a new report from the Ministry of Health.
The Israeli army announced that it had struck dozens of Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including “terrorist launch pads and infrastructure.”
Hezbollah, for its part, claimed responsibility for an attack towards a contested area on the borders of Lebanon and the part of the Syrian Golan occupied and annexed by Israel.
PHOTO MAHMOUD ZAYYAT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The rubble of a destroyed building in the village of Khirbet Selm, southern Lebanon, seen from the window of a building, December 3, 2024.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to move “deeper” into Lebanon if the fragile ceasefire agreement were to be broken.
“If we go to war again, we will act with even greater force and penetrate deeper”, “there will no longer be immunity for the Lebanese State” and Israel will no longer make “distinction [entre le Liban et] Hezbollah,” the minister said during a visit to troops.
The ceasefire agreement provides for the withdrawal within 60 days of the Israeli army from Lebanon and stipulates that only the Lebanese army and peacekeepers should be deployed in the south of the country.
Recruitment of soldiers
On Tuesday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called on “all actors” to respect UN Resolution 1701, on the basis of which the agreement was drawn up.
UNIFIL Commander-in-Chief General Aroldo Lazaro met with US General Jasper Jeffers, who is to co-chair the committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement, according to a UNIFIL statement.
His French counterpart is expected this week, so that the committee which also brings together UNIFIL and representatives of Lebanon and Israel begins its work, according to a French diplomatic source.
Furthermore, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced on Tuesday that soldiers would be recruited to reinforce the army, whose deployment along the border with Israel will be crucial for the implementation of the agreement.
According to a government source, 1,500 recruits must first be enrolled, reaching 6,000 in a later stage.
Hezbollah, for its part, must retreat north of the Litani River, around 30 kilometers from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
As soon as the agreement was announced, Israel said it reserved “complete freedom of military action” in Lebanon, if Hezbollah “violated” the ceasefire and “attempted to rearm”.
