Israel Continues South Lebanon Strikes as US Urges Lebanon to Do Something About Hezbollah

Israel continued to attack southern Lebanon today, with no signs of the operations slowing down and similarly no signs that the targets are selected in any consistent manner. This comes as US envoy Morgan Ortagus is in Lebanon on an official visit meant in part to discuss ceasefire violations.

The first of the two attacks Monday targeted a motorcycle repair shop in Taybeh, killing at least one civilian according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Israel declared the slain man the “head of Hezbollah’s rocket unit,” but provided no evidence to support that claim.

Such allegations are common in Israeli attacks on Lebanon, at least when they kill someone and are asked to identify who that was. This is, indeed, just one of many “rocket commanders” Israel has reported killed in the past several months, though only occasionally do we ever get confirmation that the person killed was at all affiliated with Hezbollah.

This attack comes after a deadly Israeli strike on engineers and excavation teams looking to revitalize the southern Lebanon agricultural infrastructure, which had been destroyed by the Israeli invasion and occupation. Two civilians were killed in that incident too, and several wounded.

Israel similarly labeled those slain yesterday as “Hezbollah operatives” but provided no plausible reason for why Hezbollah operatives would be trying to clean up farmers’ fields.

Another two Israeli drone strikes today was reported later in the afternoon, targeting a car and a tent in the town of Beit Lif. The driver was reportedly wounded, though no deaths have been reported. Israel has yet to offer a justification in this incident.

The daily Israeli attacks are just a few of the many hundreds of Israeli strikes against Lebanese territory since the ceasefire went into effect in November. Enforcement of the ceasefire is meant to be done by a body lead by the United States.

So naturally, President Aoun brought up the matter with Ortagus on her visit. There is no sign that the US intends to do anything about the daily Israeli attacks on Lebanon, however, and Ortagus emphasized in an interview after the meeting that the US demands Lebanon disarm “Hezbollah and all militias.”

Ortagus didn’t specifically mention the ceasefire violations by Israel, saying that she “does not speak for the State of Israel,” but did say she “understands” Israel’s position. This is just the latest indication that the US does not plan to enforce the ceasefire, so far as Israel is concerned.