Hezbollah Launches First Strike Since Ceasefire, Blames Israel For Violations

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Hezbollah fired two missiles at Mount Dov, an area of northern Israel where the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria converge on Monday. The barrage was the first since a ceasefire took effect on Wednesday morning.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the barrage, calling it "a warning" to Israel. The rocket fire came as the United States and France claimed that Israel was violating the ceasefire.

According to Hebrew media reports, the issue is Israeli surveillance flights over Beirut, which Washington and Paris claim breaks the ceasefire.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar responded, saying," "The opposite is true - Israel is working to enforce the agreement in response to violations by Hezbollah, which require immediate action. For example, when armed Hezbollah terrorists are identified in southern Lebanon or when an attempt is made to transfer weapons."

Sa'ar warned his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot that Hezbollah must move its forces north of the Litani River or Israel would take further steps.

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday confirmed carrying out airstrikes on a Hezbollah missile production facility in the Beqaa Valley and other sites in the Hermel area of the Lebanon-Syria border used for weapons smuggling.

Meanwhile, IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari warned Iran not to use Syria's civil war to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah.

"What is happening in Syria concerns Syria and not Israel," Hagari told Sky News Arabic, adding that Israel "will make sure that Iran does not smuggle weapons to Lebanon and Hezbollah."

"Hezbollah was defeated in the campaign and it is necessary to make sure that it does not receive weapons from Iran through Syria," Hagari said.
"And if they try to do it, we will act accordingly," he stressed.

On Sunday night, Israeli Air Force jets forced an Iranian plane in Syrian airspace suspected of carrying weapons to turn back to Tehran.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hezbollah is supposed to withdraw its armed presence from areas of southern Lebanon south of the Litani River. Israeli forces will also withdraw from southern Lebanon in stages.

The Lebanese Armed Forces is to be deployed in southern Lebanon including along the 120 km border with Israel, as will monitors from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

After the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets and launching drones at northern Israel communities daily. More than 68,000 residents of northern Israel are displaced from their homes.

Hezbollah leaders have repeatedly said they would continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes.

According to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah is forbidden from operating in southern Lebanon south of the Litani River.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.