The Israeli strike on the Taraya plain in the Baalbeck region during the night of Dec. 24–25, 2024. (Photo obtained by our correspondent Sarah Abdallah.)
An Israeli strike targeted, on Christmas night from Tuesday to Wednesday, a house on the outskirts of Taraya in the Baalbeck region of Lebanon, according to sources from our regional correspondent. This marks the first bombing by Israeli forces on the Bekaa Valley since the cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel came into effect on Nov. 27.
In southern Lebanon, the Israeli army continued demolishing houses in border villages, reported our regional correspondent, while Lebanese authorities continued to call for an end to Israeli violations of the cease-fire on Tuesday evening.
At around 3 a.m., a missile hit a two-story house in the Taraya plain, west of Baalbeck, near the Litani River. Ambulances arrived at the scene during the night. According to our correspondent's sources, the bombing caused no casualties.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a local security source told AFP that the strike, around 2:40 a.m. (midnight GMT), targeted "warehouses believed to belong to Hezbollah."
Meanwhile, Israeli drones flew at low altitude over several regions of Lebanon on Wednesday morning, including Beirut's southern suburbs.
In the afternoon, Israeli artillery fire targeted Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun, in southern Lebanon's Bint Jbeil district, setting a house in Maroun al-Ras ablaze. Several buildings on the outskirts of Houla and Mais-al-Jabal were also booby-trapped and demolished by the Israeli army.
In Khiam, the Civil Defense announced in a press release that it had found three bodies under the rubble, the site of a previous Israeli strike in the Jalajiyeh neighborhood. Civil Defense rescue workers added that operations remain ongoing in Khiam, which before the truce saw several weeks of fierce fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.
In a complaint to the U.N. Security Council to be filed by Lebanon's permanent mission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited 'over 816 violations' of the cease-fire by Israel between Nov. 27 and Dec. 22, including 'the bombing of Lebanese border villages, the placement of explosives in homes, the destruction of residential areas, and the blocking of roads.' Our tally shows that Israeli bombings in Lebanon since the start of the truce have claimed at least 36 lives.
Monitoring Committee Meeting at the Grand Serail
The cease-fire agreement stipulates a 60-day timeline for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, where they launched a ground offensive on Sept. 30. Simultaneously, the Lebanese army is set to deploy in areas vacated by Hezbollah. An international committee, including representatives from the United States, France, the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and the Lebanese and Israeli armies, oversees the implementation of the agreement. On Tuesday evening, several members of this committee — excluding the Israeli representatives — met at the Grand Serail with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (center) with members of the ceasefire monitoring committee at the Grand Serail in Beirut, Dec. 24, 2024. (Credit: Photo X / @grandserail)
Following the meeting, attended by U.S. General Jasper Jeffers, who chairs the committee, French General Guillaume Ponchin, Lebanese General Edgar Lawandos, and UNIFIL Chief Araldo Lazaro, Mikati reiterated his call for an end to Israeli violations and an 'immediate' withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. 'Lebanon is committed to respecting the terms of the agreement, but Israel continues its violations, which is unacceptable,' Mikati said, according to a statement from the Serail. He stressed that the committee must 'pressure' Tel Aviv to adhere to the agreement.
On Tuesday, Talal Akil, the head of the municipal council of Jibbein in the Tyre district of South Lebanon, called on the government and relevant parties to act, as the Israeli army 'has blown up all the houses and destroyed the infrastructure' of this village of 1,500 residents, 'without anyone stopping them.'
