The Israeli army has warned Lebanese citizens not to return to 60 villages in the south of the country, following a three-day ceasefire following more than a year of fighting with the Shia armed group Hezbollah.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published a map shows a territory several miles deep where people are not allowed to return. It says anyone who does so puts themselves in danger.
More than a million Lebanese have been displaced by the fighting, most of them from the south. Tens of thousands of Israelis have also been displaced.
The ceasefire took effect Wednesday morning, although officials in Israel and Lebanon have accused each other of violating the agreement.
On Thursday, the IDF said its forces had fired artillery and carried out airstrikes against targets in southern Lebanon. They added that they fired at the suspects after detecting activity at a Hezbollah weapons facility and vehicles traveling to several areas that they said violated the ceasefire.
Lebanon accused Israel of violating the agreement “repeatedly” and said it was monitoring the situation.
A multinational monitoring group including representatives of the US, France and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) was established as part of the ceasefire to monitor compliance with the terms of the agreement. It.
In his first interview since the ceasefire was declared, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the IDF to wage “a fierce war” if Hezbollah commits “serious violations” of the ceasefire. shoot.
He said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 that the ceasefire “could be short-lived.”
Under the terms of the deal brokered by the US and France, Israeli forces will withdraw from southern Lebanon as the Lebanese army deploys there at the same time and no other armed groups will be allowed to operate in the area. This is meant to happen within 60 days of the start of the ceasefire.
The area where the IDF said residents should not return yet stretches from Mansouri on the coast to Shebaa in the east.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese army warned people not to return to areas where Israeli forces were present before they withdrew.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon early last month after the IDF stepped up military action against Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began its current conflict with Israel by firing rockets into and around northern Israel on October 8, 2023, one day after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel from Gaza that killed some 1,200 people. network.
Hezbollah said it was acting in solidarity with the Palestinians after Israel responded to a Hamas attack with a large-scale military operation in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry said at least 44,330 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attack.
Since October 8, Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire with increasing intensity. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli attacks killed at least 3,961 people and injured 16,520 others during that period. The figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Israeli authorities say Hezbollah attacks have killed 31 soldiers and 45 civilians in Israel. Another 45 Israeli soldiers were killed fighting in southern Lebanon.
In his first reaction since the agreement was reached, Hezbollah head Naim Qassem said the group would coordinate with the Lebanese army to implement a ceasefire.
He said that Hezbollah had achieved a great victory – preventing Israel from destroying it. It is a narrative that may be accepted by its supporters, but not by others because of the scale of loss of life and widespread destruction of land and property in Lebanon.
