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The Israeli army has warned Lebanese civilians not to return to 60 villages in the country’s south, three days after a more than a year-long ceasefire with the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Published a map Showing the area several miles deep, it says residents should not return. Anyone who did so, he said, would be putting himself in danger.
The fighting has displaced more than a million Lebanese, mostly from the south. Tens of thousands of Israelis have also been displaced.
The ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday morning, although Israeli and Lebanese officials have already accused each other of violating it.
On Thursday, the IDF said its forces fired artillery and carried out airstrikes on targets in southern Lebanon. It added that it opened fire on the suspects after witnessing Hezbollah weapons emplacements and vehicle activity in several areas, which it said violated the ceasefire.
Lebanon accused Israel of violating the agreement “many times” and said it was monitoring the situation.
A multinational monitoring group including representatives of the United States, France and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) was established as part of the ceasefire to monitor compliance with its terms.
In his first interview since the ceasefire was announced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the IDF to “fight fiercely” if Hezbollah “massively violates” the ceasefire. Let’s start.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, he said the ceasefire “may be short”.
Under the terms of the agreement, which was brokered by the US and France, Israeli forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon as the Lebanese army would remain stationed there at the same time and no other armed groups would be allowed to operate in the area. This has to happen within 60 days of the start of the ceasefire.
The zone that the IDF said residents must not return to still stretches from Mansouri on the coast to Shiba in the east.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese army warned residents not to return to areas where Israeli forces were present before their withdrawal.
Israel attacked southern Lebanon early last month as the IDF stepped up military operations against Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began the current conflict with Israel by firing rockets into and around northern Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza that killed nearly 1,200 people.
Hezbollah said it was carrying out a massive military campaign in Gaza in response to Israel’s attack on Hamas in solidarity with the Palestinians. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says at least 44,330 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive.
Since October 8, there has been an intense exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanese Ministry of Health says at least 3,961 people were killed and 16,520 wounded in Israeli attacks during that period. The statistics do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israeli officials say that 31 soldiers and 45 civilians have been killed inside Israel in Hezbollah attacks. Another 45 Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon.
In his first reaction after the deal, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said the group would cooperate with the Lebanese army to implement the ceasefire.
He said Hezbollah had won a great victory – preventing Israel from destroying it. It’s a narrative his supporters might accept, but not given the loss of life and widespread destruction of land and property in Lebanon.
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