President Trump declared on Friday, shortly after the start of the Israel-Lebanon 10-day ceasefire, that Israel was absolutely “PROHIBITED” by the United States from carrying out any strikes on Lebanon because “Enough is enough!!!” Mere minutes after that declaration was posted on social media, the first strike was reported.
An Israeli drone in Beit Yahoun, in southern Lebanon, attacked and killed an unidentified man on a motorcycle. Three people were also wounded in the strike. Beit Yahoun’s timing was particularly noteworthy, but post-ceasefire strikes had been happening already.
Israel had already launched airstrikes against the residential areas of Sidon, another city in Lebanon’s coastal south. Two women were reported killed in that incident. Further incidents were reported elsewhere across the south, with artillery strikes notably targeting ambulances belonging to the Islamic Health Organization.
Overnight, even bigger strikes were reported against the city of Tyre, leaving at least 13 killed and 15 wounded, with that number expected to rise. Since the war began on March 3, Israel has killed 2,294 people wounded over 7,500 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
It’s not as though Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu was unaware of the ceasefire, having publicly affirmed it as an “historic” opportunity to make peace with Lebanon, a position that was immediately denounced by opposition leader Yair Lapid, indicating his intention to restart the conflict in the event that he takes power as the next government.
In the immediate lead-up to the ceasefire announcement, Israeli ground troops launched a last-minute offensive to seize Cristofani Ridge, a position that, like other territory the IDF has seized, they show no signs of withdrawing from.
Substantial casualties, multiple strikes, and questions on the ground about the continuing Israeli occupation of southern Lebanese territory, however, don’t appear to be distracting a lot of major international media outlets, who are declaring the ceasefire to be “holding” despite the lack of a full cessation of fire, and the reality to what is happening may only be a 10-day semi-pause of the conflict.
