Hezbollah says Israel is looking for 'pretexts to continue its aggressions against Lebanon' amid a fragile ceasefire
News Desk - The Cradle
Four people were killed, and several others were injured in the Israeli attacks on the town of Touline.
Israeli forces launched a series of raids targeting the outskirts of Rashaya al-Fukhar, Khiam, and the area between Yatar and Beit Lif.
Israeli shelling targeted the heights of Iqlim al-Tuffah and Jabal al-Rayhan, as well as the outskirts of the town of Yahmar al-Shaqif in the Nabatieh Governorate.
Israeli troops also carried out combing operations near the towns of Houla, Markaba, and Khiam.
The Israel attacks came in response to claims in Israeli media that Hezbollah had fired five rockets from Lebanon towards the settlement of Metula in the Upper Galilee, causing the Israeli military to launch missiles to intercept them.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the military to respond to the rocket attack and also issued an apparent threat to strike the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
"We will not allow a reality of fire from Lebanon on the Galilee communities. We have promised security to the Galilee communities, and that is exactly what will happen," he said.
"The fate of Metula is the same as Beirut," Katz threatened.
"The Lebanese government bears responsibility for any fire from its territory. I have instructed the IDF to respond accordingly," he added.
However, Hezbollah denied responsibility for the rocket fire on northern Israel.
"Hezbollah denies any involvement in the rocket fire from southern Lebanon toward the occupied Palestinian territories, emphasizing that the Israeli enemy's claims are part of its pretexts to continue its aggressions against Lebanon, which have not ceased since the ceasefire was announced," the resistance movement said in a statement.
"Hezbollah reiterates its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and affirms that it stands behind the Lebanese state in addressing this dangerous Zionist escalation against Lebanon," the statement added.
In response to the Israeli bombing, Lebanese MP Ali Fayyad of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc stated that "Israeli practices have exceeded all limits and have become a daily, recurring act, with no regard for UN Resolution 1701 or its executive measures, as if this resolution does not exist at all in the framework of Israeli practices toward the south and other Lebanese areas."
Hezbollah and Israel signed a ceasefire agreement based on UN Resolution 1701 that took effect on 27 November 2024, largely halting more than a year of war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The fighting came after Hezbollah launched limited attacks on military bases and infrastructure in northern Israel on 8 October 2023 in support of Hamas and the Palestinian people in Gaza.
In September 2024, Israel launched a major bombing campaign followed by a ground invasion that killed over 4,000 Lebanese and devastated many villages in south Lebanon, as well as large parts of the cities of Nabatieh, Tyre, and the southern Beirut suburbs.
Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory since the truce agreement took effect.
Israeli forces continue to occupy five strategic points in south Lebanon, saying it had received a green light from the US to remain at those posts despite the ceasefire.
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