Danger to ceasefire: Israel bombs targets in Lebanon

Israel’s air force has bombed numerous targets in Lebanon in the heaviest attacks to date since the ceasefire with the Hezbollah militia came into force around a week ago. Among other things, a launch pad from which rockets had been fired at Israel for the first time hours earlier was destroyed, the military said. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least nine people died in Israel’s attacks. Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump threatened Hezbollah’s ally Hamas in the embattled Gaza Strip with “hell” if the Israeli hostages were not released before he took office.

If the hostages are not released before January 20th, “all hell will break loose” for those responsible for atrocities in the Middle East, Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform he co-founded. “Those responsible will be hit harder than anyone has ever been hit in the long and storied history of the United States of America.” In all caps, Trump added: “Release the hostages now.” What exactly he would do if his ultimatum was not adhered to initially remained unclear.

Members of the terrorist organization Hamas and other extremist groups killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 others in Israel on October 7th last year. After more than a year of war, many of the approximately 100 hostages remaining in Gaza are no longer expected to be alive. Among them are several people who, in addition to Israeli, also have German or US citizenship. According to US information, the mediating states are currently making renewed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the sealed-off coastal area and the release of the hostages.

The United States, as Israel’s most important ally, warned against exaggerating violations of the ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, which was painstakingly negotiated after more than a year of mutual attacks. “When you have a ceasefire, of course there are violations,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had almost immediately announced a “strong” military response to a militia attack on northern Israel, which constituted a serious violation of the ceasefire.

According to the military, the Israeli Air Force then attacked terrorists, dozens of launch pads and other facilities belonging to the pro-Iranian Shiite militia. The information could not initially be independently verified. In the southern city of Haris, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported five deaths and one injured. In the town of Talusah, around four kilometers from the demarcation line, there were four dead and two injured.

Hezbollah and Israel’s military repeatedly accuse each other of violating the ceasefire. Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri accused Israel of dozens of violations. In a televised speech, he spoke of “aggressive actions by Israeli occupation forces” that destroyed houses in Lebanese border villages with bulldozers, as well as several airstrikes. The Israeli military said that the actors in Lebanon had to stop Hezbollah’s hostile activities. Israel remains committed to fulfilling the terms of the ceasefire agreement, it said.

The army has repeatedly attacked targets from the air and on the ground in Lebanon. Israel spoke of reactions to violations of the terms of the ceasefire by the pro-Iranian militia. However, US State Department spokesman Miller insisted that the ceasefire was successful. The fighting has largely stopped. At the same time, Miller emphasized that the USA did not want the ceasefire to collapse.

The agreement stipulates, among other things, that the Hezbollah militia withdraw behind the Litani River, about 30 kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, in accordance with a UN resolution. The Lebanese army should ensure that this part of the agreement is adhered to. Israel’s ground troops are to gradually withdraw from Lebanon within 60 days.