Lebanese soldiers must deploy in the thousands across south Lebanon in line with the ceasefire deal [Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP via Getty]
Lebanon will confront any attempt to undermine the state’s efforts in establishing security and stability across the land, Defence Minister Michel Menassa vowed on Saturday, following a wave of deadly Israeli airstrikes in the south.
The bombardment came in response to a rocket attack on the northern Israeli town of Metula, three of which were reportedly intercepted and two others which failed to cross the border.
It was the first time projectiles had been fired from Lebanon since December.
An air raid on the south Lebanese village of Toulin killed two people, including a nine-year-old girl, and wounded eight others according to the health ministry.
A new wave of airstrikes on Saturday evening targeted different regions around south Lebanon, including one attack on the coastal city of Tyre for the first time since the 27 November ceasefire.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group denied its responsibility for the rockets towards Israel, saying it was committed to the ceasefire deal which ended last year’s devastating war.
The Lebanese army said in a post on X that it had discovered and dismantled three makeshift rocket launchers in the border area. The army shared images of what appeared to be small launchers made of wood.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said the Lebanese government was “responsible for everything happening on its territory,” adding that Israel will act in all ways to protect its citizens in the north.
But despite the tensions and Israel’s continued violations, Ophir Falk, an advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel was “committed” to the ceasefire agreement.
Lebanon’s defence ministry said the army was investigating the circumstances behind Saturday’s launch of rockets from Lebanon.
“Lebanon refuses to return to the status quo before the November 2024 ceasefire and will strongly confront attempts to undermine the state’s efforts to consolidate security and stability across all Lebanese territory, particularly along the southern and eastern borders,” Menassa said.
He called on mediator countries – the US and France – to deter Israel from its continued violations and attacks on Lebanon “under flimsy arguments and false pretexts”.
Menassa also stressed that “the Lebanese state is continuing to take action at the political, diplomatic, and military levels to ensure Lebanon’s sovereignty, the security of its people, the integrity of its territory, and the protection of its borders in the north, east, and south”.
Saturday’s tensions left the country on edge, amid fears that the rocket fire on Metula could yet again spiral into another war, and after Israeli threats that Beirut could be targeted in response.
Despite these fears, many in south Lebanon remain defiant.
Speaking to Lebanon’s L’Orient Today, a resident of Toulin said nobody had left the village despite the brutal air raid on Saturday.
“It’s difficult to leave your home. Residents will continue to endure fear until they can’t bear it anymore,” he told the publication.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah fighters are obliged to pull out of southern Lebanon and the group must completely disarm, handing what remains of its arsenal over to the Lebanese army, which in turn must deploy heavily in the region alongside UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) to maintain calm and security.
Israel must also completely withdraw from Lebanon’s south, but despite this has kept troops in five strategic border locations.
On Friday, Israel said it would remain in these positions until the Lebanese army was in full control of the south.
Menassa’s comments on Lebanon’s northern and eastern borders were an apparent reference to recent tensions with Syria.
Border towns in the northeastern Hermel district in the northernmost part of Beqaa recently witnessed clashes between Lebanese soldiers and local armed clans, and security forces from Syria’s interim government.
The deadly clashes focused around the towns of Qasr and Hawsh al-Sayyed Ali with conflicting reports about the reasons behind them. Menassa and his Syrian counterpart agreed to ceasefire days later, as the Lebanese army bolstered its presence on the notoriously porous border, which Beirut and Damascus are yet to fully demarcate.
The Lebanese army has in recent days announced that it was closing illegal border crossings in the Hermel district, long used by smugglers on both sides.
