This photo taken from northern Israel along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke rising over the southern Lebanese village of Khiam (Marjayoun) after an Israeli bombardment on Dec. 2, 2024. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)
Hezbollah on Monday claimed responsibility for a shelling targeting the Roueissat al-Alam site in the disputed Kfar Shuba hills, marking its first such attack since the cease-fire began on Nov. 27. The incident occurred amid continued Israeli drone strikes and artillery fire on southern Lebanon, including a bombing that injured a Lebanese soldier at a border post in Hermel.
In a statement, Hezbollah stated that the attack as a "defensive warning response" to repeated Israeli violations of the cease-fire agreement.
"Following the repeated violations by the Israeli enemy of the cessation of hostilities agreement, which came into effect at dawn on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, which takes many forms, including firing at civilians and airstrikes in different parts of Lebanon, which led to the martyrdom of citizens and the injury of others, in addition to the continued violation of Lebanese airspace by hostile Israeli aircraft up to the capital Beirut, and since the reviews of the concerned authorities to stop these violations did not succeed, the Islamic Resistance carried out this Monday evening a first defensive warning response targeting the Roueissat al-Alam site," the party's statement read.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of "serious violation" of the cease-fire in Lebanon, adding that Israeli will respond firmly. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Hezbollah made a "serious mistake," and Israel must respond with a "powerful blow," according to Reuters. "Hezbollah's firing at the Israeli army post in Mount Dov will be met with a harsh response," threatened Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on X. "If we do not react firmly against the state of Lebanon, we will return to the era of equations," reacted Benny Gantz, leader of the opposition National Union party.
The cease-fire followed 14 months of war with Israel, including two months of intensifying violence. The expanded offensive began on Sept. 23, a week before the ground operation launched in southern Lebanon.
'Flagrant violation'
On Monday, Lebanese Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, denounced the "flagrant violation" by Israel of the terms of the cease-fire agreement. In a statement, the head of the legislature, who negotiated the agreement on behalf of Lebanon, again called on the international committee charged with monitoring the application of the cease-fire terms to "urgently launch its mission and compel Israel to cease its violations and withdraw from the territories it occupies." The committee is made up of the USA, France, the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon and the Lebanese and Israeli armies.
He added that the Israeli army's "aggressive actions" in Lebanon represented a "flagrant violation of the terms" of the agreement. Among these violations, he cited Israel's "bulldozing of houses in border villages" and airstrikes, particularly at depth.
He pointed out that "more than 54 violations" had been reported "while Lebanon and the resistance [Hezbollah and its allies] are fully committed" to respecting the agreement.
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers, the head of the cease-fire monitoring committee. According to the National News Agency, the two men discussed the committee's mission. Mikati stressed "the need for total commitment to the cease-fire, the prevention of security violations and the withdrawal of the Israeli enemy from occupied Lebanese territories."
'Israel enforces cease-fire'
Israeli cease-fire violations were a key topic in a call between French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar. Barrot emphasized "the need for all parties to respect the cease-fire in Lebanon," according to a statement from the French Foreign Ministry.
In response, Saar dismissed the accusations, saying, "We hear claims that Israel is violating the cease-fire agreement in Lebanon. On the contrary, Israel is enforcing it in response to Hezbollah's violations, which require immediate action."
The Lebanese Army announced that an Israeli drone strike in the morning targeted an army excavator working at a military center near the Hosh al-Sayyed Ali border post in Hermel, in the northern Bekaa region, injuring a soldier. Earlier, a drone strike was reported on the Syrian side of the border at the same location, according to a correspondent in the Bekaa.
Border crossings between Lebanon and Syria in the Bekaa and North Lebanon have been repeatedly targeted by Israel.
In southern Lebanon, a Lebanese State Security agent was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Jdaidet Marjayoun, according to regional correspondent. The victim, identified as Mahdi Khreiss from Khiam, a few kilometers southeast of Marjayoun, was riding his moped near the town's electricity station when the strike occurred. The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed that one person was killed in the Israeli drone strike.
Two additional Israeli drone strikes were reported in Aitaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district, slightly injuring one person, according to a correspondent. In the Marjayoun district, Israeli drones targeted the villages of Mais al-Jabal and Tallouseh, resulting in one fatality and two injuries.
Israeli artillery fire struck multiple locations, including Shebaa, Bastara Farm near Kfar Shuba, Rashaya al-Foukhar and Halta, in the Hasbaya district. An airstrike also targeted the village of Borghoz in the Hasbaya district. In the Bint Jbeil district, Beit Lif was hit twice by 155 mm Israeli shells, as reported by the National News Agency, while Israeli airstrikes struck Maroun al-Ras, Hanine, and Yaroun. In the Marjayoun district, explosions were carried out in the Ras al-Dahr neighborhood, west of Mais al-Jabal, and artillery fire targeted Khiam. In the Jezzine district, Israeli strikes hit Srire.
Bulldozers parked
In the Bint Jbeil district, an Israeli bulldozer began demolishing part of the Maroun al-Ras mosque. In the Marjayoun district, Israeli bulldozers were reported operating in Kfar Kila. Meanwhile, in the Hasbaya district, an Israeli armored unit, accompanied by a Merkava tank, entered the Shanouh farm on the outskirts of Kfar Shuba and fired in the area.
According to a correspondent in southern Lebanon, five vehicles and a bulldozer from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) attempted to reopen the Mais al-Jabal-Shakra road west of Mais al-Jabal on Monday. The road had been blocked with mounds of earth by an Israeli unit. An Israeli force remains stationed on the hills surrounding the village.
The Israeli unit advancing on the Doubieh area, east of Mais al-Jabal, withdrew after conducting a "search" operation, according to a correspondent in southern Lebanon. Israeli vehicles and tanks were also reported near the Mais al-Jabal government hospital, with troops stationed on nearby hills, occasionally firing artillery from these positions. The correspondent further noted that around 15 Israeli tanks and military vehicles withdrew from several areas inside Khiam since last evening, heading south toward the town's outskirts.
The cease-fire in Lebanon has been broadly successful, the U.S. State Department said Monday, adding the United States and France will look at reports of potential violations in coming days. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at a regular news briefing that Washington and Paris would engage with the Israeli and Lebanese militaries to look at reports of violations and deal with them through channels in the mechanism set up in the agreement.