Israel continues carrying out strikes in Lebanon this week, raising further questions about the status quo after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated parts of southern Lebanon a week ago. Today, the most serious strike was reported in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
The drone strike hit the village of Yanta, near the Syrian border, killing two people and wounding two others according to reports. The victims have yet to be identified.
The IDF claimed the strike targeted “Hezbollah operatives” and hit a manufacturing and storage facility for “strategic weapons.” They also claimed the existence of the site amounted to a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.
Hezbollah MP Ibrahim al-Moussawi issued a statement condemning the attack as a “serious violation of the ceasefire by Israel. He further added that the attack was contrary to UN Resolution 1701 and was the second attack deep into Lebanon in less than a month.
Moussawi’s statement didn’t specify which other attack on eastern Lebanon in the past month he was referring to, as there have been several. It’s likely, however, that it was the attack two weekends ago on the same neighborhood in the same village, which killed six people and was similarly labeled a “strategic weapons” site by the IDF. Indeed, the IDF statement on both attacks are effectively identical, though they termed the first one a “broad violation” of the ceasefire and the second a “blatant violation.”
The ceasefire was originally passed for 60 days on November 26, and was extended to February 18 to allow Israel to continue occupying southern Lebanon. The deadline passed, and Israeli troops left the populated areas, but retained a presence at five newly constructed surveillance outposts in the area. Since February 18, Israel has continued to carry out strikes against Lebanon and fired on Lebanese civilians trying to return to their homes in border villages.
