Israel’s wave of air strikes on greater Beirut and southern Lebanon on Thursday night has renewed complaints in Lebanon about a “one-sided ceasefire”. The strikes occurred more than six months after the truce between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hizbullah came into force.
Many Lebanese families had gathered to celebrate Eid al-Adha, one of the most important holidays on the Islamic calendar, when Israeli warnings about expected air strikes were announced through social media, prompting panic and displacement.
At least 10 strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, according to the Reuters news agency, while others hit the southern village of Ain Qana.
In the aftermath, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun condemned “the Israeli aggression”, calling the strikes a “flagrant violation of an international accord” and noting they were occurring “on the eve of a sacred religious festival”.
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When questioned about the timing of the strikes and whether Israel is deliberately violating the ceasefire, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had struck “underground UAV [drone] production and storage facilities ... as well as a drone manufacturing workshop”.
“Despite the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, Hizbullah’s aerial unit continues to engage in terrorism and expand its capabilities. The unit is working to produce thousands of UAVs under the direction and funding of Iranian terrorists, as part of Iran’s efforts to harm the State of Israel.”
The spokesperson said the alleged activity “constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF is prepared in defence and offence and will continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel and its civilians, and will prevent any attempt by Hizbullah to re-establish itself.”
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz, in a post on X, said that there was “perfect execution” of the strikes. “We see the Lebanese government as directly responsible for preventing violations of the ceasefire and all terrorist activity against the State of Israel,” he said.
Under the ceasefire agreement, which came into force in the early hours of November 27th, 2024, Hizbullah fighters were required to move north of the Litani river, while Israel was required to withdraw completely from Lebanon, though its forces remain in five “strategic” positions.
Between November 27th and May 6th, a spokeswoman for the UN peacekeeping force Unifil said it had documented more than 2,700 air violations and almost 70 air attacks by Israel in Lebanon, while there were 19 violations from the Lebanese side, not counting “legacy violations” of weapons and ammunition left behind.
Those figures do not include Israeli strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which is outside Unifil’s area of operations in southern Lebanon, the spokeswoman said.
On May 29th, Irish peacekeepers in southern Lebanon came under fire from Israeli forces while on a joint patrol with the Lebanese Armed Forces.
“This is the latest in a range of what I view as intimidatory behaviour by the IDF towards peacekeepers or, as we saw recently, Irish diplomats too. So this is not acceptable,” said Tánaiste Simon Harris at the time.
