Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon kill nine, including Lebanese army officers, days after ceasefire
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed nine people, including three members of the Lebanese military, The Associated Press reported, citing the Lebanese army and state media.
The strikes come just days after Israel and Lebanon reached a new ceasefire deal following U.S.-brokered talks. The Lebanese government has accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group of dragging the country into another war.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the latest Israeli strike as “a flagrant violation to Lebanese sovereignty and international law,” adding that it came in the context of “ongoing escalation that threatens stability and security in the south (of Lebanon), despite the efforts Lebanon is exerting in the Washington negotiations to put an end to the ongoing Israeli attacks without deterrent.”
Lebanon’s army said an airstrike on a vehicle on a road linking the city of Nabatiyeh with the town of Marjayoun killed a brigadier general, a captain and another soldier, according to the AP.
Another airstrike on the southern village of Saksakiyah killed six people and wounded four, state-run National News Agency reported.
“The continued, deliberate, and repeated Israeli aggression against Lebanon, its people and its army only strengthens our resolve, faith and determination,” the Lebanese army said in its statement.
It said Israel’s attacks aim to thwart all efforts “to reach a solution that would restore stability, establish a comprehensive ceasefire and lead to the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories.”
The Israeli military confirmed hitting a vehicle and said the incident is being reviewed. The statement added that the vehicle was “moving suspiciously” toward Israeli soldiers near the village of Kfar Tibnit, after the military received “concrete indications” that Hezbollah would direct fire toward Israeli soldiers from the same area.
The Israeli military said that it operates against Hezbollah and not against the Lebanese army.
On Friday, Aoun and Lebanon’s prime minister criticized Iran for opposing the latest ceasefire deal between the Lebanese government and Israel, saying their country should not be used by Tehran as a “bargaining chip” in its talks with Washington.
Israeli forces have advanced farther into Lebanon than at any time since Israel ended its occupation in 2000, with troops controlling roughly one-fifth of the country, according to the AP. The offensive follows Hezbollah attacks launched after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran when Operation Epic Fury began in late February, opening a new front in the regional conflict.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
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