Israel Strikes Lebanon Days After US-Brokered Peace Deal
Al Jazeera Staff
Israel resumed airstrikes on southern Lebanon just days after a US-brokered framework deal was signed, raising immediate doubts about the ceasefire. Hezbollah denounced the agreement as a surrender, while the Israeli far-right rejected it as well. The first death since the deal was recorded on Saturday, and Israeli forces continued operations in a buffer zone.
Israel resumed airstrikes on southern Lebanon just days after signing a US-brokered framework deal that was expected to end the war between the two sides. The attacks came on Sunday, two days after the agreement was signed in Washington following five rounds of talks.
Each side touted the deal as a victory in its own way, but it was rejected by both Hezbollah and the Israeli far-right, immediately raising questions about its sustainability.
Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported a series of strikes in the south on Sunday, a day after the Lebanese Health Ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli attack there—the first fatality since the deal was signed. Israeli aircraft were also active, with reports of drones flying over the northeastern city of Baalbek and fighter jets conducting mock raids over the adjacent highlands.
Israel said its forces were targeting members of Hezbollah near a buffer zone its troops occupy inside Lebanese territory. The Israeli military also announced that a soldier was killed in fighting in the south, identified as Captain David Hazutt, 21, a platoon commander in the Golani Brigade, and a second soldier was lightly wounded. Israel's army chief of staff approved continued operations in the area, saying they were consistent with the ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deal "historic" and "a severe blow to Iran and Hezbollah." The agreement was signed between Lebanon and Israel in Washington on Friday, cautiously described by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as "the beginning of the beginning." At the time, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the deal "aims to achieve Israel's withdrawal from all Lebanese territories."
However, the deal text appeared to stop short of demanding unconditional Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, instead linking the withdrawal to the disarmament of Hezbollah. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces were preparing for a long-term presence in the buffer zone and would stay as long as Hezbollah holds weapons.
On the Lebanese side, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the deal, calling it "an insult" and "a surrender of sovereignty," and declared his fighters would not leave the battlefield. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned that any Lebanese Army move to enforce the deal would push the country into internal conflict, as the group's supporters protested the agreement across the capital. On the Israeli side, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir argued the deal gave Hezbollah a "lifeline" and rejected the notion that the Lebanese Army could disarm the group.
The war began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in response to the assassination of Iran's supreme leader in US and Israeli airstrikes. Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion. More than 4,200 people have been killed in Lebanon since then, according to the country's health ministry. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the US to force Israel to stop the attacks and withdraw from occupied areas in Lebanon, citing a separate agreement he said bound both Israel and the US.
