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November 28, 2024 | 07:10 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel said on Thursday that its ceasefire with Hezbollah was breached hours after Lebanese security sources said Israeli tanks attacked six areas of southern Lebanon, calling into question a truce reached after more than a year of fighting.
A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the U.S. and France, intended to allow people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting.
The Israeli military said the ceasefire was violated after what it called suspects, some in vehicles, arrived at several areas in the southern zone.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah accused Israel of attacking people returning to their villages in south Lebanon. The Israeli military has urged residents of towns along the border strip not to return yet for their own safety.
Israeli tank fire hit six areas within that border strip on Thursday morning, striking Markaba, Wazzani, Kfarchouba, Khiyam, Taybe, and the agricultural plains around Marjayoun, state media and Lebanese security sources said.
All of the areas lie within two kilometers of the Blue Line demarcating the border between Lebanon and Israel. One of the security sources said two people were wounded in Markaba.
Lebanese families displaced from their homes near the southern border have tried to return to check on their properties. But Israeli troops remain stationed within Lebanese territory in towns along the border, and Reuters reporters heard surveillance drones flying over parts of southern Lebanon.
There was no immediate comment on the tank rounds from Hezbollah or Israel, who had been fighting for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war.
Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon, but neither side can launch offensive operations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to villages near the border.
Lebanon's speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, the top interlocutor for Lebanon in negotiating the deal, had said on Wednesday that residents could return home.
In the border village of Qlaaya, residents threw rice and flowers to celebrate the arrival of Lebanese soldiers.
“We only want the Lebanese army,” chanted the residents of the Christian-majority village as they clapped and cheered for the troops and waved Lebanese flags, as quoted from Arab News.
Since the ceasefire took effect on Wednesday, tens of thousands of Lebanese who fled their homes have headed back to their towns and villages, only to find scenes of devastation.
Meanwhile, Hassan Fadlallah said his group was cooperating with the army’s deployment in the south.
There is “full cooperation” with the Lebanese state in strengthening the army’s deployment, he said, adding the group had “no visible weapons or bases” but “nobody can make residents leave their villages.”
REUTERS | ARAB NEWS
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