Lebanese leaders on Saturday denounced what they called Israel’s “ongoing aggression” against Lebanon and warned of the risk of “a new war,” after Israel reported incoming rocket fire and responded with strikes.

A cease-fire agreement ended two months of open warfare between the Israeli military and Hezbollah on Nov. 27, 2024. Hezbollah had opened a front against Israel in October 2023 in solidarity with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the start of the war in Gaza. The cease-fire has largely held, despite repeated mutual accusations of violations. The Israeli military has continued to carry out strikes in eastern and southern Lebanon, where it maintains troops in five strategic positions near the Israeli border.

“What happened today in the South, and what has been ongoing since Feb. 18, constitutes continued aggression against Lebanon and a blow to the rescue plan agreed upon by the Lebanese,” said President Joseph Aoun, according to a statement on the presidency’s X account.

Three rockets were fired Saturday from Lebanon into northern Israel but were intercepted by the Israeli air force, according to the Israeli military, which then announced strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, but the Lebanese Army later said it had dismantled three “improvised” rocket launchers in the south.

Lebanon’s official news agency (NNA) reported Israeli artillery and airstrikes on several villages in the south, as well as sweeping operations using automatic weapons. Two people were initially reported injured in the border town of Kfar Kila, but the death toll had risen to four by midday, according to additional information.

Condemning “attempts to drag Lebanon into another cycle of violence,” Aoun called on “the concerned forces in the South, particularly the truce monitoring committee and the army,” to “contain any violation or negligence that could threaten the nation in these delicate times” and demanded a full investigation.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also warned that renewed military operations along the southern border “could drag the country into a new war, with disastrous consequences for Lebanon,” according to a statement from his office. He said he had contacted the Defense Minister to “ensure that only the state has the authority to decide on war and peace.”

Hezbollah emerged significantly weakened from its latest war with Israel, which devastated wide areas of Lebanon and decimated much of the group’s leadership. In a statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is deployed in the south, expressed concern about a “possible escalation” that “could have serious consequences for the region.”

Salam met en garde contre le risque d'une « nouvelle guerre » après des tirs sur Israël