Israel said on Saturday it launched a new attack on Iran-backed Hezbollah militia hours after intercepting three missiles fired from Lebanon, as a fragile ceasefire appeared on the brink of collapse.
The new shelling is the heaviest exchange of fires since the November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect since November.
“In response to the launch of the rocket to Israel this morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the Israel Defense Forces [Israel Defense Forces] A statement from Netanyahu’s office said:
“The attacks on dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers and a command center where Hezbollah terrorists operate in southern Lebanon,” the IDF said.
The attack occurred when the IDF said three projectiles fired from Lebanon in Metula, a small northern Israeli border town, were intercepted, with no injuries or damage reported.
To date, Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Lebanese security sources told DPA that Israeli artillery at the villages of Yohmor and Al-Hamames responded with the Metula border.
Residents in the target area reported hearing loud explosions due to shelling.
The NNA reported on Israeli fighter jets and attacks involving artillery, tanks and machine guns.
In a statement released on X, the Israeli military said that the head of Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir conducted a “situation assessment” and that Israel would “respond seriously to the morning attack.”
“Lebanon’s state is responsible for maintaining [ceasefire] agreement,” it said.
Another ceasefire at the edge?
The battle threatened to break the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which has been going on for five months.
The deal put a temporary end to more than a year of cross-border shelling between Israel and Iran-backed groups, which intensified when Israeli forces launched a ground-based invasion of southern Lebanon in October.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Israel’s renewal in southern Lebanon could risk dragging the country into a “new war.”
The State-run National News Agency (NNA) quoted Salam as stressing that “all necessary security and military measures need to be taken to confirm that individual states have the right to decide on war and peace.”
On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian militant group Hamas clashed with attacks on Israel and subsequent wars in Gaza, and Hezbollah said its attacks were in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Earlier this week, Israel also resumed extensive air strikes and ground operations in Gaza, citing a deadlock talks with Hamas since January 19 to expand the ceasefire.
Hundreds of Gazans have been reportedly killed since the fight resumed earlier Tuesday, which actually undermined the temporary ceasefire.
Israel continues to exist
Under the terms of the ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israeli forces will be completely evacuated from southern Lebanon, but there are still five military posts near the Israeli border.
Beirut’s government believes that the persistent presence of Israeli units in the country is a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
According to the NNA, Salam also called on the official UN Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert to urge the UN to “increase international pressure on Israel and make Israel completely withdraw from occupied Lebanese territory.”
