Israel on Saturday launched attacks on the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, hours after intercepting rockets fired from Lebanon, as a ceasefire appeared on the brink of collapse.
The renewed violence, which Lebanon said left two people dead, including a child, is the heaviest exchange of fire since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect in November.
“In response to the launching of rockets toward Israel this morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to act with force against dozens of terrorist targets in Lebanon,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
The IDF said it “struck dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers and a command center from which Hezbollah terrorists were operating in southern Lebanon.”
The attacks came after the IDF said it intercepted several rockets launched from Lebanon at the northern Israeli border town of Metula, with no injuries or damage reported.
Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the rockets.
“The Israeli enemy’s claims are merely pretexts to justify its ongoing aggression against Lebanon, which has not stopped since the announcement of the ceasefire,” the militia said in a statement.
But Lebanese security sources suggested Hezbollah had launched its first attacks on Israel since the beginning of the ceasefire.
Lebanese security sources told dpa that Israel responded with artillery fire on the village of Yohmor and the hills of al-Hamames, across the border from Metula.
Residents in the targeted areas reported hearing loud explosions.
At least two people, including a young girl, were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon, with at least eight injured, according to officials.
NNA reported Israeli fighter jets as well as attacks involving artillery, tanks and machine guns in several locations.
Hezbollah-affiliated broadcaster Al-Manar also reported of over 20 airstrikes targeting southern Lebanon.
In a statement posted on X, the Israeli military said that Israel would “respond severely to the morning’s attack.”
“The State of Lebanon bears responsibility for upholding the [ceasefire] agreement,” it said.
Another ceasefire on the brink?
The fighting threatens to break the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which has been in place for nearly four months.
The deal put a temporary end to more than a year of intense cross-border attacks between Israel and the Iran-backed group, which intensified when Israeli forces launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in October.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that renewed Israeli operations in southern Lebanon could risk dragging the country into a “new war” while the UN observer mission UNIFIL noted that “the fragile stability observed in recent months” was at risk.
According to the observer mission, four projectiles were fired at Israel in the morning, “triggering immediate retaliation by the IDF.”
The Lebanese military said its forces had discovered three simple wooden structures in southern Lebanon designed to launching rockets and dismantled them.
Hezbollah said it remains committed to the ceasefire deal with Israel and “stands behind the Lebanese state” in addressing what the group described as a serious Israeli escalation against Lebanon.
The conflict broke out following the October 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, with Hezbollah saying its attacks were in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Earlier this week, Israel also resumed widespread airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza, citing deadlocked negotiations with Hamas on expanding a ceasefire in place since January 19.
Hundreds of Gazans have been killed since the restart of the fighting early on Tuesday, which effectively shattered the temporary ceasefire.
Continued Israeli presence
Under the terms of the ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israeli troops are due to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon, but five military posts remain near the border to Israel.
The government in Beirut views the continued presence of Israeli units in the country as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
According to NNA, Salam also called UN official Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert to urge the United Nations to “redouble international pressure on Israel to withdraw completely from the occupied Lebanese territories.”
Heavy smoke billows from an Israeli air strike in the southern Lebanese village of Sohmour. STR/dpa
