The Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon continues, as does Israel’s flaunting of the ceasefire. At least 11 violations of the ceasefire have been reported in the past 24 hours, including airstrikes, drone strikes, and gunfire against Lebanese civilians.
Drone strikes were reported on a house in the village of Yahmor al-Shuqayf. The house had already been effectively destroyed by Israeli forces, and there is no report of any casualties in today’s strike. It’s not evident why Israel attacked a house that was already destroyed.
A more unusual aggression occurred in Tal Nahas Thursday morning when Israeli forces raided and set fire to a poultry farm. This incident was reported by multiple sources, and Israel has not commented nor offered a plausible explanation for why the farm was burned.
While no casualties have been reported in either the farm fire or the Yahmor al-Shuqayf drone strike, the same can’t be said of Israeli gunfire against civilians. At least 36 civilians were reported wounded on Tuesday alone, with more casualties reported before and after then.
In additional incidents, the Israeli Air Force attacked an engineering truck it claimed was owned by Hezbollah, and three Turkish nationals were killed along the border, allegedly trying to cross into Israel.
Israel also reported shooting down a Hezbollah surveillance drone thought to be trying to enter Israeli airspace. Although Israel has committed well over 1,000 ceasefire violations, it presented the presumptive plans of this unarmed drone as a major ceasefire violation by Hezbollah.
Israel is reportedly planning attacks on asserted Hezbollah compounds in the outskirts of multiple southern Lebanese towns. These operations are focused on the area around the Galilee Panhandle.
These planned new attacks, together with yesterday’s announcement by the IDF that it won’t withdraw until it’s satisfied the Lebanese military controls the areas Israel presently occupies, are raising concerns that Israel plans to occupy border areas of Lebanon for a longer time.
Per the ceasefire, Israel was to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60-days, a period that expired Monday morning. The US and Israel, however, extended the ceasefire, and thus, the occupation, until February 18.
But will Israel withdraw by February 18? It’s not clear. The IDF’s comments certainly suggest it’s not in any rush to leave. Beyond systematically burning civilian homes in southern Lebanon, and now poultry farms as well, Israeli troops are installing heavy surveillance equipment at strategic Lebanese hilltop locations, indicating an intention to stay longer than a few more weeks.
Lebanon said Israel never notified them about the surveillance equipment, and they’ve sought “clarification” from US mediators on what Israel is actually planning. As the US previously guaranteed that Israel would complete the withdrawal by January 27, any assurances from that quarter should be taken with a grain of salt.
