Israeli fire kills two in Lebanon as Hezbollah slams truce ‘violation’
Lebanese armed group Hezbollah denounced the ‘treacherous attack’, saying it was a ‘blatant’ violation of the truce. Israeli troops have opened fire in southern Lebanon
Lebanese armed group Hezbollah denounced the ‘treacherous attack’, saying it was a ‘blatant’ violation of the truce. Israeli troops have opened fire in southern Lebanon, killing two people and wounding two, according to the Lebanese state news agency, following two days of relative calm in the country amid a fragile truce. Two men were killed when Israeli soldiers “opened fire with their machine-guns in their direction while they were standing near an excavator that was unblocking a road” in a town near the city of Nabatieh, Lebanon’s News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday. They are the first reported deaths from Israeli fire in Lebanon in three days, threatening a United States-brokered “ceasefire” that has largely held since Sunday. The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah denounced the “treacherous attack”, saying it was a “blatant” violation of the truce. It did not say whether it would respond. The Israeli military said it “struck armed terrorists who posed an immediate threat” to soldiers in the Ali al-Taher ridge area of the south, within an area of south Lebanon where Israeli forces have declared a “security zone”. Earlier, Mahmoud Qamati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, warned that the Lebanese group will respond to any violation of the ceasefire by Israel, according to Iran’s Press TV.
Qamati said Hezbollah’s retaliation will come “in kind”, adding that there will not be a “return to the pre-war situation” when Israeli forces launched near-daily attacks on Lebanon even as the group’s fighters held their fire. “Hezbollah remains fully alert with its finger on the trigger, ready to confront any violation by the Israeli regime,” he was quoted as saying. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 4,106 people since March 2. At least 1.2 million people have also been forced from their homes. Israel’s death toll from its latest conflict with Hezbollah includes at least 32 soldiers and four Israeli civilians. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir issued a joint statement saying the Israeli military will continue to “act with determination in order to neutralize threats against our soldiers and our citizens”. The military would continue to demolish infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, and would also continue to “maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon”, it said. The statement came after Netanyahu issued a video statement insisting that the Israeli military will “have full freedom of action” in Lebanon. “My stance is firm on our remaining in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as is required,” he said.
The BriefWire