The Israeli air force and artillery resumed their massive attacks on targets in southern Lebanon. The attacks came just days after the governments in Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a historic framework ceasefire agreement. This peace plan was negotiated under intense diplomatic pressure and mediation by the United States.
Military operations in the early hours were mainly concentrated in the Nabatieh province, as well as in strategic areas along the Litani River. The Israeli military command (IDF) issued an official statement stating that the operations were not aimed at escalation, but were “preventive strikes“. They were aimed solely at active operatives and hidden weapons infrastructure of the Hezbollah group. According to Tel Aviv, these positions posed an immediate threat to the security of Israeli ground forces deployed in the border area.
However, the political situation in Lebanon itself is rapidly becoming more complicated. Hezbollah's new leader, Naim Qassem, made a sharp statement in which he officially rejected the peace framework agreement, calling it an "unacceptable capitulation to the enemy." The statement has raised international concerns about the outbreak of internal civil conflict in Lebanon. The agreed peace plan obliges the Lebanese regular army to take full control of the southern parts of the country and demands the final disarmament of all paramilitary militias, which Hezbollah categorically refuses to allow.
Sources: Anadolu Agency and Al Jazeera