Israel responds to Hezbollah rocket attack with airstrikes on Lebanon

Israel has killed two people, including a State Security officer, in separate attacks in Lebanon as it continues its assaults on the country since the ceasefire with Hezbollah came into effect last week.

For its part, the Lebanese group said on Monday that it carried out a “preliminary defensive response” to the “repeated violations” of the ceasefire by attacking an Israeli military base in the hills of Kfar Chouba, a disputed area that Lebanon claims as its own.

Hezbollah said Israeli breaches of the truce that went into effect on Wednesday include deadly air raids across Lebanon, shooting at civilians in the south, and flying drones and jets in Lebanese airspace, including over the capital, Beirut.

The group said it launched its “warning” attack because “appeals by the relevant authorities to stop these violations did not succeed”.

The renewed violence highlights the fragility of the ceasefire, which ended a devastating war that killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon and saw Hezbollah fire rockets daily at Israel.

Earlier on Monday, Lebanon’s State Security agency said an Israeli rocket killed officer Mahdi Khreis in the southern district of Nabatieh, calling the incident a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire and a dangerous escalation.

Israeli bombardment in neighbouring Marjayoun killed another person, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said. A drone attack in the northeast of the country also injured a Lebanese soldier.

Although the ceasefire calls on all parties to hold their fire, Israel has been launching near-daily attacks against Lebanon.

Lebanese media have also reported that the Israeli military is using the truce to advance into new neighbourhoods in towns that it had entered during the war.

Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem said life in Lebanon “started resuming” after the ceasefire was reached with hundreds of thousands of displaced people returning to their homes.

“Now, it seems with Israel’s insistence on violating the ceasefire, Hezbollah found it necessary to say … that these violations must stop or things might get out of control,” Hashem said.

After months of low-level hostilities, Israel launched an all-out war on Lebanon on September 23 with the stated aim of defeating Hezbollah.

The Lebanese group had been targeting Israeli military bases in northern Israel for months in an effort that it said was aimed at pressuring Israel to end its war on Gaza.

Israel assassinated top Hezbollah military and political leaders early in the war, including the group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah.

It also levelled thousands of buildings and homes across Lebanon with its focus on southern and eastern Lebanon and the Beirut suburbs of Dahiyeh – areas where Hezbollah is popular.

Still, Hezbollah continued to fire rockets at northern and central Israel. The group also said it inflicted heavy losses on invading Israeli troops that crossed into the country.

The truce, which was brokered by the United States and France, stipulates that the Israeli military must withdraw from Lebanon within 60 days and Hezbollah must move away from the border with Israel until it is north of the Litani River.

During those two months, the Lebanese army is to deploy to southern Lebanon to be the only armed force there.

Al Jazeera