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In Brief
- A 10-day ceasefire came into effect last week.
- Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s aim of disarming Hezbollah will require “wise navigation of the diplomatic field”.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced the launch of rockets and drones targeting northern Israel, accusing the Israeli military of breaching a ceasefire ahead of upcoming discussions facilitated by the United States between Israeli and Lebanese officials.
Earlier, the Israeli Defense Forces reported that Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran, had fired several rockets at Israeli soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon. They labeled this action a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire terms.
It remains uncertain whether these reports refer to the same incident.
The United States brokered a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which began last Thursday. However, Israeli military forces continue to occupy a swath of Lebanese territory, ranging from five to ten kilometers along the entire border.
Israel has stated that the purpose of this occupation is to establish a “buffer zone,” intended to protect its northern region from potential Hezbollah assaults. The Shia Muslim group poses a significant security concern for Israel.
Hezbollah, in its statement on Tuesday, accused Israel of attacking civilians and destroying homes in breach of the truce.
It said it fired at a position in northern Israel that had been striking southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military said it struck the launcher from which the rockets were fired, and that sirens in northern Israel were likely sounded after the interception of a drone launched from Lebanon.
The Israeli military did not respond to a question on whether Hezbollah’s announced attack was the same as the one the Israeli military had announced earlier.
Hezbollah ally says people will resist
On Thursday, the US will host a second round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon, which was dragged into war on 2 March when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Iran in the regional conflict.
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Lebanon’s most senior Shia statesperson and a Hezbollah ally, earlier told Lebanese newspaper al-Joumhouria that Israeli forces occupying parts of the south would face resistance.
If Israel “maintains its occupation, whether of areas, positions, or by drawing yellow lines, it will smell the scent of resistance every day,” said Berri, leader of the Shia Amal Movement.
The Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both referred to Israel’s deployment line in Lebanon as the “Yellow Line” last week — the same term used by Israel for its deployment line in Gaza.
Israeli officials have since refrained from describing it in those terms, instead calling it a “forward defence line” that was marked in red in a military map published on Sunday that included a “naval forward defence area” extending from Lebanon’s coast into the sea.
The Israeli military has been carrying out demolitions in southern villages since the ceasefire, saying it is acting against Hezbollah infrastructure allegedly embedded in civilian areas.
Lebanese state media on Tuesday reported new Israeli detonations in at least eight villages and Israeli artillery shelling in several areas.
Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation, during which Hezbollah, Amal and other groups waged retaliatory attacks against Israeli forces.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed nearly 2,300 people since 2 March, Lebanese authorities say.
The Lebanon conflict has complicated Pakistan’s efforts to mediate between the US and Iran.
Iran has demanded that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah be included in any deal on the wider war.
US President Donald Trump announced the Lebanon ceasefire on 16 April, saying there was no link to its talks with Iran.
But Iran said it was part of an understanding reached with the US and mediated by Pakistan.
The US hosted talks between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the US on 14 April, the highest-level contacts between the states in decades, despite strong objections from Hezbollah.
No need for direct talks with Israel, says parliamentary speaker
Berri, in his comments to al-Joumhouria, reiterated his view that there was no need for direct talks with Israel, noting he had been a party to several rounds of indirect negotiations with Israel over the years.
Lebanon President Joseph Aoun has listed Israeli withdrawal among the country’s goals in face-to-face talks with Israel.
His administration has sought Hezbollah’s peaceful disarmament for a year.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Tuesday his government did not seek confrontation with Hezbollah but would not be intimidated by it.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday the ultimate goal of the campaign against Hezbollah was to see the group disarmed, by both military and diplomatic means.
“If the Lebanese government continues not to keep its commitment [to disarm Hezbollah], the IDF will do so by continuing its military activity,” Katz said in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu struck a softer tone last Friday, saying that disarming Hezbollah “will not be achieved tomorrow. It requires sustained effort, patience, and endurance, and it requires wise navigation of the diplomatic field”.
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