Israeli Airstrikes Kill 9 Including Lebanese Army Officers After Ceasefire Deal
BEIRUT (AP) — Nine people, including three members of the Lebanese army, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Saturday, the Lebanese army and state media said, days after the two sides said. A new ceasefire agreement was reached.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described the attack on his army as a “clear violation” of the country’s sovereignty and international law, amid “a continuing escalation that threatens stability and security in the south.”
The army said, without disclosing their names, that a brigadier general, a captain and another soldier were killed in an air attack on a vehicle on the road connecting the city of Nabatiyeh to the town of Marjayoun. The state-run National News Agency said six people were killed and four injured in another airstrike on the village of Saksakiyah.
The Lebanese military said the “ongoing, deliberate and repeated Israeli offensive” was aimed at hindering efforts towards a solution that would “restore stability, establish a comprehensive ceasefire and lead to Israel’s withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory.”
The Israeli military confirmed it had hit a vehicle and said the vehicle was “moving suspiciously” towards soldiers near the village of Kfar Tibnit after the military received “concrete indications” that the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group would open fire on Israeli soldiers from the same area.
The army said it was operating against Hezbollah, not the Lebanese army.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that two soldiers died in southern Lebanon, with no date of death.
The last ceasefire declared in Washington took place US-brokered talks There is tension between Israel and the Lebanese government, which accuses Hezbollah of dragging the country into war and strives to disarm it before the latest clashes. Hezbollah rejected the ceasefire.
Israeli troops have captured nearly a fifth of Lebanon, advancing further into the country’s south than at any time since the end of Israel’s 1982-2000 occupation. More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war began on March 2, when Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel, two days after Israel and the United States began attacking Iran.
Israel has since launched a ground offensive into Lebanon, carrying out attacks that have displaced more than 1 million people. At least 31 Israeli soldiers and three civilians lost their lives in the clashes.
On Friday, Aoun and Lebanon’s prime minister criticized Iran for opposing the deal. last ceasefire agreementHe said Tehran should not use their country as a “bargaining chip” Talks with Washington. Iran wants a ceasefire agreement with the United States, including the situation in Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to X on Saturday and said: Aoun’s comments“One might think that it is Iran that occupies a fifth of Lebanon, displaces a quarter of the Lebanese people and bombs its country every day.”
“If Lebanon were a bargaining chip for Iran, we would have reached an agreement a long time ago. Save Lebanon from your real enemy, Mr. President,” Araghchi added, referring to Israel.
