
Smoke billows after an Israeli bombardment in the village of Shihine, South Lebanon, near the border with Israel, Feb. 13, 2024. (Credit: Kawnat Haju/AFP)
BEIRUT — The Israeli army claimed Thursday night to have targeted Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, accusing the Lebanese Army of failing to act on an alleged request to neutralize the sites. However, a source within the Lebanese Army Intelligence Directorate swiftly denied the accusation, telling L'Orient Today on Friday, “This is completely untrue. A request was never sent to the Lebanese Army through the mediators; we did not receive such a request.”
On Thursday night, the Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on social media platform X that Israeli “warplanes carried out an airstrike, guided by intelligence from the Israeli Intelligence Directorate, destroying medium-range rocket launchers that were being used by the Hezbollah group inside a military site belonging to the organization. Another strike targeted additional rocket launchers near another military site in the Nabatieh area."
While Adraee did not specify the exact location, the Israeli army struck Jabal al-Rihan in the Jezzine district and Iqlim al-Touffah in the Nabatieh district shortly before the post was published. Both targeted areas are located over 100 kilometers from the border with Israel.
"As part of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, a request was sent to the Lebanese Army before the airstrike to neutralize these rocket platforms, which posed a threat to Israel's home front and the Israeli army. The rocket platforms were targeted only after the Lebanese army failed to act on the request," Adraee claimed.
He concluded that the Israeli army “will continue its efforts to eliminate any threats to the State of Israel in line with the cease-fire agreements.”
Mountains in the Jezzine region and Iqlim al-Touffah were struck by Israeli strikes multiple times during the war, particularly near Jabal al-Rihan. In May 2023, Hezbollah carries out highly publicized maneuvers in Jabal al-Rihan and Aramta, a village in the Rihan heights.
Additionally, a takeoff strip, reportedly used by Hezbollah to launch drones, is located near "Birket Jabbour" in the same vicinity, reported our regional correspondent.
Cease-fire committee
The U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson told L’Orient Today that the cease-fire committee will oversee such incidents assuring that “UNIFIL has no information about the matter.”
According to the 13-point cease-fire agreement, "Israel will not carry out any military offensive against targets in Lebanon, whether on land, in the air or at sea," but "these commitments do not waive Israel's and Lebanon's inherent right to self-defense."
"Israel and Lebanon will report any violations of these commitments to the committee," composed of representatives of the U.S., France, the Lebanese and Israeli armies and UNIFIL.
However, another text was signed between Washington and Tel Aviv containing "guarantees" for the Israeli authorities, alongside the text of the agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv. This document notably emphasizes that "in the southern zone [south of the Litani River], Israel reserves the right to act at any time in case of violations of obligations" and "outside the southern zone, Israel reserves the right to act against the escalation of threats directed against it if Lebanon cannot or does not wish to counter these threats, including the introduction of illegal weapons into Lebanon through its borders and crossing points." "If Israel decides to take such measures, it will inform the United States whenever possible," the document added.
Six year old Adam was 'inconsolable after the strikes'
For Lina Hamdan, a resident of Jezzine who stayed in the area throughout the 66-day war between Hezbollah and Israel, the strikes were a painful reminder that peace is fragile. She shared with L'Orient Today how her six-year-old son, Adam, had been “inconsolable” after she told him in late November that “the war is fully over.” Despite her attempt to reassure him, Hamdan now fears the cease-fire will not last much longer.
In the village of Kfar Hatta in Iqlim al-Touffah, located around 100 km from the border, residents were startled by the sound of the airstrikes. One local, who wished to remain anonymous, described the noise as resembling “breaking the sound barrier,” due to the village's distance from the southern border.
The cease-fire that ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel took effect on Nov. 27. Since then, Beirut has repeatedly condemned hundreds of violations of the agreement by Israel. On Dec. 24, the Lebanon’s Foreign Affairs Ministry lodged a formal protest with the U.N. Security Council through its Permanent Mission in New York, condemning Israel's repeated violations of the cease-fire and security arrangements under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues operating in southern Lebanon, ravaging border villages and preventing some residents from returning home. At least 36 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the start of the truce.
Nearly halfway through the 60-day period allotted for Israel's withdrawal and the Lebanese Army's deployment, Lebanon has reported up to 800 violations, according to a source close to the monitoring committee.