After several rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel for the first time since a ceasefire was implemented in November, Israel has carried out the most intense airstrikes on Lebanon in nearly four months. In southern Lebanon, the Israeli military claimed to have destroyed dozens of Hezbollah command centres and rocket launchers supported by Iran. Lebanon's health ministry said two people, including a child, were killed and eight injured in the strikes.
There are several armed groups in Lebanon,
including Palestinian factions and Hezbollah, but no one has claimed
responsibility for the attack. Hezbollah, the most powerful of them, said it
had no involvement and remained committed to the ceasefire.
The attack on Saturday came just a few days after
Israel intensified its assault on Gaza's Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah. The
Israeli military said it had intercepted three rockets in the northern Israeli
town of Metula, and there were no reports of casualties.
The Lebanese military said it had dismantled
"three primitive rocket launchers" in the south, and the country's
defence minister said an investigation had been launched into the attack.
Hezbollah, the main armed group active in Lebanon,
said it had not carried out the attack and that it remained committed to the
ceasefire that ended 14 months of conflict in Lebanon.
This is the worst violence since the fragile
ceasefire, brokered by the US and France, came into effect, ending more than a
year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the terms of the deal, the Lebanese
military would deploy thousands of additional soldiers to the south of the
country to prevent armed groups from attacking Israel.
The Israeli military would leave the positions it
had occupied during the war, and Hezbollah would have to get rid of its
fighters and weapons. But Israel has carried out nearly daily airstrikes on
what it describes as Hezbollah targets and has indicated that attacks will
continue to prevent the group from rearming.
The Lebanese government claims that the Israeli
military's continued occupation of five locations in southern Lebanon is a
breach of the agreement and a violation of the country's sovereignty. Israel
asserts that to ensure the safety of its border communities, the Lebanese
military has not yet fully deployed to those locations. Saturday's attack is
another demonstration of the challenges facing the Lebanese army as it tries to
exert control over southern areas where Hezbollah has traditionally had a
strong presence and support.
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, who came to
power in January, has said only the state should have arms in the country, in
what is seen as a reference to Hezbollah's arsenal.
On Saturday, he condemned "attempts to drag
Lebanon into a cycle of violence," while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said
the escalation carried the "risk of dragging the country into another
war."
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL,
said it was "alarmed by the possible escalation of violence," urging
both Israel and Lebanon to "uphold their commitments."
Hezbollah was battered in the conflict with
Israel: many of its leaders were assassinated, hundreds of fighters were
killed, and much of its arsenal was destroyed.
The group faces the huge challenge of providing
financial help to its communities affected by the war and pressure from its
opponents to disarm.
Lebanon's international partners say they will
only help the country if the government acts to curb Hezbollah, the most
powerful group in Lebanon.
Hezbollah launched its campaign the day after the
Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, saying it was acting in
solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The longstanding conflict escalated and led to an
intense Israeli air campaign across Lebanon and a ground invasion of southern
Lebanon.
The offensive killed about 4,000 people in
Lebanon—including many civilians—and led to the displacement of more than 1.2
million residents.
Israel's stated goal in its war against Hezbollah
was to allow the return of about 60,000 residents who had been displaced from
communities in the country's north because of the group's attacks and to remove
them from areas along the border.
