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Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire is on the verge of collapse...Israeli air strikes continue.

2024.12.03 PM 04:19
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Just six days after Israel and Lebanon's pro-Iranian militant Hezbollah entered a temporary truce, the 13-month ceasefire was on the verge of collapse as the two sides exchanged attacks using rockets and other weapons.

According to foreign media such as the Associated Press and the Guardian on the 2nd, Israel launched airstrikes and shelling at least four times against southern Lebanon, the home of Hezbollah, even after the ceasefire took effect on the 27th of last month.

The Israeli military claimed it was a response to Hezbollah's breach of the ceasefire agreement, but did not specify what Hezbollah had done.

Lebanese parliament speaker Nabi Berry, who participated in ceasefire negotiations on behalf of Hezbollah, accused Israel of violating the cease-fire agreement more than 50 times in more than five days, including airstrikes as well as destruction of buildings around the border and airspace violations.

Hezbollah, which had been quiet since the ceasefire, also resumed its attacks on Israel on the 2nd by firing two rockets at the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms in the Golan Heights, a territorial dispute area bordering Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

Hezbollah in a statement condemned Israel for repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement and said the launch of rockets at Sheba Farms was a "defensive and warning response."

However, Israel has taken a hard-line response to Hezbollah's warnings, increasing the intensity of its airstrikes.

Lebanese health officials said at least nine people were killed and four injured in airstrikes in the southern towns of Haris and Talusa.

Some of the sites where Israeli bombs fell are more than 50 kilometers from the Israeli-Lebanon border.

That brings the total number of Lebanese killed in Israeli military attacks since the ceasefire to 13, including a soldier from Lebanon's government forces, the British daily Financial Times reported, citing Lebanon's health ministry.

"Israel will respond to any violations by Hezbollah," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X before retaliatory airstrikes against Sheba Farms began, adding that "minor violations will be treated as big violations."

"We will attack with strong force in the face of dangerous violations by Hezbollah," said Israeli military chief Herji Halebi, stressing that "there are plans and targets ready to be implemented at any time."

The Associated Press reported that in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, where major facilities such as Hezbollah headquarters are located, residents who have barely returned home can even be seen on the evacuation trail.

Ali, a resident who stayed in Tyre and returned to his home in Beirut as the ceasefire was reached, said, "We are exhausted. I can't handle it anymore. People have just come back to their homes."

The U.S. and France, which brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, also appear to be stepping up diplomatic efforts to prevent the shaky agreement from collapsing.

White House National Security and Communications Adviser John Kirby told reporters, "In general, the ceasefire is ongoing," adding, "The air raid has decreased from dozens of times a day to one or two a day (after the ceasefire). We'll keep trying and see how we can get this to zero cases," he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden's special envoy to the Middle East Amos Hochstein, who played a key role in reaching a cease-fire agreement, also conveyed U.S. concerns to Israeli government officials about Israel's ceasefire violations, the Financial Times reported.

Earlier, Israeli media reported on the 1st that France raised the issue, saying that the number of violations of Israel's ceasefire agreement reached 52.

However, Israel has shown no signs of slowing down its hard-line response, refuting that Hezbollah is the first to violate the agreement.

"(Israel) is only making sure that the agreement is implemented in response to Hezbollah's violations," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said. "The existence of Hezbollah agents south of the Ritani River is a fundamental violation of the agreement, and they should all go north."



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