Israel, Hezbollah each say the other side violated the ceasefire a day after the deal went into effect
Israel and Hezbollah traded accusations of violations of their ceasefire agreement on Thursday, a day after a more than one-year ceasefire in Lebanon came into force.
Israel's military said the cease-fire, held by the United States and France, was violated after what it called suspects, some in vehicles, arrived at several locations in the southern region.
Hezbollah spokesman Hassan Fadlallah accused Israel of violating the agreement.
“The enemy of Israel is attacking those who return to the border towns,” Fadlallah told reporters after the parliamentary session, adding, “there are violations of Israeli laws today, even of this kind.”
Israeli tank fire hit six areas along the border on Thursday morning, hitting Markaba, Wazzani and Kfarchouba, Khiyam, Taybe and the agricultural plains around Marjayoun, state media and Lebanese security sources said.
All these places are within two kilometers of the Blue Line that divides the border between Lebanon and Israel. The security area will be patrolled by the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.
One of the security sources said that two people were injured in Markaba.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles in several areas in southern Lebanon, violating the terms of the ceasefire.”
It said the army “opened fire on them” and “will enforce the ceasefire violation.”
Later on Thursday, the Israeli military said its air force struck a site used by Hezbollah to store medium-range rockets in southern Lebanon, in its first strike since the operation began.
Residents said they could return to their homes on Wednesday
Lebanese families who were displaced from their homes along the southern border have tried to return to look for their homes. But Israeli troops remain stationed in Lebanese territory in towns near the border, and Reuters reporters heard surveillance drones flying over parts of southern Lebanon.
There was no immediate comment on the tank rounds from Hezbollah or Israel, which has been fighting a year-long parallel war in Gaza.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be continuing in Lebanon, bringing peace to the region, after more than a year of fighting. It also allowed thousands of Lebanese citizens to flee their homes, despite warnings from the Israeli army to stop.
The agreement, a rare diplomatic gesture in the conflict-ridden region, ended the deadliest conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist group in years. But Israel is still at war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, who is Lebanon's chief negotiator in the negotiations on this agreement, said on Wednesday that citizens can return to their homes.
The Israeli army has ordered not to allow the settlers to return
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon but neither side can launch an offensive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the army not to allow civilians to return to towns near the border.
Hezbollah said its forces “remain fully equipped to face the desires and attacks of Israel's enemy.” Its forces will monitor Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon “with their hands on the trigger.”
This group has been weakened by the injuries and the killing of its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders by Israel.
Israel's standoff with Hezbollah in Lebanon is leading to a new push for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire agreement in Gaza, both from the White House and the Israelis.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the war, most of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The war killed more than 70 people in Israel – more than half of them civilians – and dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
About 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began to stream back to their homes on Wednesday, despite warnings from the Lebanese army and the Israeli army to evacuate certain areas. About 50,000 people remained in their places on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely abandoned.
Announcing the Lebanon agreement on Tuesday, American President Joe Biden said he will now renew his goal of suspending the agreement in Gaza and urged Israel and Hamas to seize the moment. Months of efforts to negotiate a cease-fire have made little progress, and talks remain on hold.
Israeli military strikes killed at least 21 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, health officials said, as forces stepped up attacks on central areas and tanks penetrated deeper north and south of the area.
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