Destroyed houses at a village in southern Lebanon, as it seen from the Israeli side of the border, on Dec 2, 2024. Photo by Erik Marmor/Flash90
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck dozens of targets across Lebanon after Hezbollah violated the ceasefire by launching two mortar grenades at northern Israel earlier on Monday, the IDF announced.
“The IAF struck Hezbollah terrorists, dozens of launchers, and terrorist infrastructure throughout Lebanon. Additionally, the IAF struck the Hezbollah launcher in the area of Berghoz in southern Lebanon shortly after the launch of the two projectiles toward Mount Dov,” according to the Israeli military’s statement.
According to Lebanese authorities, which don’t differentiate between civilians and Hezbollah terrorists, 10 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday.
IAF strikes were reported in Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, but also in the Hermel region near the northern border, as well as on several border posts on the Syrian side of the border, in the Homs province.
Lebanese newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour reported that the United States and France asked the UN Security Council to discuss the state of the ceasefire in a meeting on Wednesday.
Officials from both countries have accused Israel of violating the agreement in recent days.
The IDF said after its strikes, “Hezbollah’s launches tonight constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. The State of Israel demands that the relevant parties in Lebanon fulfill their responsibilities and prevent Hezbollah’s hostile activity from within Lebanese territory.”
“The State of Israel remains obligated to the fulfillment of the conditions of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. The IDF is prepared to continue operating wherever necessary and will continue to operate to defend Israeli civilians,” the IDF stated.
After Hezbollah launched mortar grenades at Israel – the first offensive violation of the ceasefire following numerous other breaches – several Israeli leaders demanded a strong response.
Former IDF Chief Benny Gantz, the National Unity party chairman, said this was “a time of trial. If we do not react strongly against the state of Lebanon, we will return to the era of equations.”
Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), concurred with Gantz’s assessment.
“Israel’s enemies and friends alike would do well to internalize that October 7 marked a sea change in the Jewish state’s strategy. It will no longer accept short-term truces, cross-border rockets in ‘trickles,’ or the cat-and-mouse games of attacks intended to be just minor enough to make Jerusalem think twice about striking back.”
Writing before the Israeli series of strikes, he added: “The Israeli retaliation now must be harsh for the message to get across. Hezbollah must understand that its very survival is, again, at stake, and that preserving the ceasefire is thus a matter of self-preservation.”
However, after the strikes, Army Radio’s military correspondent Doron Kadosh criticized the Israeli response.
“No target was attacked in or around Beirut. According to the reports from Lebanon, most of the attacks were carried out in southern Lebanon. If Hezbollah launchers and terrorists were attacked in southern Lebanon – this is in any case Hezbollah targets that violate the cease-fire agreement (since Hezbollah is not allowed to have armed terrorists or launchers south of Litani) – then why are they even included in the ‘retaliatory attack’?”
“If we don’t find out about some surprise or secret target that was attacked tonight, the residents of the north can register another disappointment,” Kadosh said.
The IDF held off from striking targets in Beirut in response to U.S. pressure, Channel 12 News reported on Tuesday morning.
Despite the strikes the strikes between Israel and Hezbollah forces, U.S. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller insisted that the ceasefire has not collapsed in a briefing on Monday
He noted that the enforcement committee supervising the ceasefire was probing violation claims by both sides, and “that’s what we’ll do over the coming days and coming months.”
“If we do see violations of the ceasefire, we’ll go to the parties and tell them to knock it off,” Miller said.