Israel has been criticized In France and the United States for violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement, saying that “there have been Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, especially the apparent and also heard return of Israeli drones in the skies of Beirut,” Ynet said. In response, the IDF Spokesperson said today that in the past 24 hours, “the army acted in response to Hezbollah actions that posed a threat to the State of Israel and violated the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
“Israel is acting according to the understandings. It’s time to draw red lines.”
A state official said about allegations of a ceasefire violation: “Israel is acting in accordance with the side document agreed with the Americans. According to the side agreement, as long as there is an immediate and timely threat, Israel has the right and the ability to act at its discretion in order to remove the threat. We are determined to enforce the arrangement in a powerful way in order to determine reality on the ground,” wrote Ma’ariv journalist Anna Barsky. “Now, in the first stage of the agreement, we are creating red lines. Precisely now, in the first few days of the series, the mechanism must be established in order for it to operate without incident,” the source concluded.
IDF Spokesperson: Hezbollah’s actions pose a threat to Israel
An IDF statement explained that the IDF’s actions in Lebanon were carried out because of threats to Israel, and that Hezbollah is the one that violates the understandings in the cease-fire agreement. “The IDF acted last night and this morning, following a number of Hezbollah actions in Lebanon that were a threat to the State of Israel and violated the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the statement said.
The army explained that “the claim that one of the attacks injured a Lebanese army soldier is known, and that the incident is being investigated.” It also said that “the IDF attacked to remove a threat during the day by a number of terrorists from the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the southern Lebanon area” and that “the IDF is deployed in the southern Lebanon area and acts against any threat that endangers the State of Israel.”
Foreign Minister: “The very presence of Hezbollah south of Litani is the biggest violation.”
This morning, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke with his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrow, and responded to French claims regarding the alleged violations of the ceasefire by Israel.
In the phone call, the minister stressed that Israel is not the one who violates the cease-fire with Hezbollah, but on the contrary, it is the one who enforces the violations of the terrorist organization that does not fulfill its commitment to the agreement, and in the background the incompetence of the Lebanese state. For example, Sa’ar said that Hezbollah operatives were armed in the area south of Litani, or were trying to transport weapons in trucks to the south. “Their mere presence south of Litani is the most fundamental violation. They must move north,” the foreign minister stressed in a conversation with his French counterpart.
Sa’ar added that the Lebanese government must clearly authorize the Lebanese army to carry out the actions required by the agreement and to enforce Hezbollah’s violations. The minister added that Israel has an interest in successfully maintaining the ceasefire understandings, but this requires the fulfillment of its obligations – and that Israel will not accept a return to the pre-war situation.
