Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as ceasefire deadline nears
Jerusalem: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it has carried out strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in recent days, targeting weapons storage facilities and observation posts used by the group.
In a statement, the IDF said its Northern Command forces conducted the operations to “remove threats” while adhering to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. The military remains deployed in southern Lebanon, monitoring Hezbollah’s activities and prepared to respond to any threats to Israeli troops or the country, the statement added.
The ceasefire agreement, which took effect on November 27, 2024, requires Israel to withdraw all troops from southern Lebanon by Sunday. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday that forces would remain beyond the deadline, citing the Lebanese military’s failure to establish full control over the area and Hezbollah’s incomplete withdrawal north of the Litani River, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Lebanese side has repeatedly accused Israel of violating the ceasefire during the past two months.
Meanwhile, two Palestinians were killed on Friday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle in Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank.
Kamal Abu al-Rub, the governor of Jenin, said an Israeli drone struck the vehicle near the town’s medical complex, burning the vehicle thoroughly. He identified the victims as Mahmoud Kamil and Hamoud Zakarneh.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the strike, saying it was part of a counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank over the past four days, which involved the IDF, Israel Security Agency, and Border Police forces.
The new deaths raised the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army since the beginning of the large-scale military operation in Jenin to 14, Abu al-Rub noted.
The Israeli army launched the campaign, named “Iron Wall,” on Tuesday to dismantle what it called “terrorist groups” and maintain military control in the West Bank.
Tensions in the West Bank have escalated since October 2023, when war broke out between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups have killed more than 800 Palestinians in the West Bank since then, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.