On Thursday, an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanon town of Aitaroun injured five people, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported, as Israeli violations of the ceasefire continue.
According to a tally from Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, there have been 137 Israeli ceasefire violations since the truce was supposed to go into effect last Wednesday. Earlier this week, the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said there had been 100 Israeli violations.
Israeli attacks since last Wednesday have killed at least 15 people. For their part, Hezbollah has only fired two rockets toward Israeli positions, which it did on Monday as a “warning shot” in response to the Israeli violations.
Despite the constant Israeli fire, Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed on Wednesday that the ceasefire was holding. The US had given Israel a letter of assurance that it could strike Lebanon if it deemed the ceasefire was being violated, giving Israel significant freedom of action.
Israeli officials have justified their strikes by claiming Hezbollah’s presence and activity was a violation of the ceasefire. But under the deal, Hezbollah has 60 days to withdraw its fighters and heavy weapons north of the Litani River. During that time, Israeli forces are supposed to pull out of southern Lebanon.
