Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned on November 27 that any violation of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon by Hezbollah “will be answered with fire.”
The warning came just hours after the ceasefire, brokered by the United States, came into effect. Under the agreement, the IDF will have 60 days to withdraw from the towns it currently occupies in southern Lebanon. The military warned Lebanese civilians against returning to these towns during this period. Still, tens of thousands rushed back almost immediately.
IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said at a press conference: “The IDF’s mission is to enforce the agreement. The IDF is determined, and any violation will be answered with fire.”
Several suspects were hit by fire in the town of Meiss al-Jabal, according to the IDF, which said it had shifted from active fighting in Lebanon to focusing on enforcing the agreement.
“We are stationed and operating in this area. Armed operatives in the area marked on the map is a violation [of the ceasefire], and any armed operative will be eliminated or detained,” Hagari said.
Addressing Lebanese civilians, Hagari said: “As you saw throughout the war, we are doing what we say. For your safety, we call on you not to approach the area where our forces are. The ceasefire agreement is built in a gradual way, and we will update when you can return.”
While the IDF is withdrawing from southern Lebanon, the Lebanese military will take responsibility for the region a U.S.-led committee will be established to adjudicate complaints regarding potential ceasefire violations, according to the agreement.
Hezbollah is also supposed to leave southern Lebanon, and its military infrastructure should be dismantled. The U.S. has also reportedly provided a side letter specifying Israel’s rights to respond to any violations of the ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that he and Defense Minister Israel Katz had instructed the IDF to “not allow the [Lebanese] population to enter the area of the villages near the border in southern Lebanon.”
From its side, the Lebanese military said that it had begun “reinforcing its presence in the South Litani sector and extending the state’s authority in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon [UNIFIL].”
On November 28, the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Avichay Adraee renewed warning to Lebanese civilians returning to the south, saying that entry to the towns of Shebaa, Habariyeh, Marjayoun, Arnoun, Yahmar, Qantara, Shaqra, Bra’shit, Yatar, and Mansouri was prohibited.
“The IDF does not intend to target you, and therefore, at this stage, you are prohibited from returning to your homes from this line south until further notice” the spokesman wrote on the X social network.
The conflict between the IDF and Hezbollah, which broke out as a result of the war on the Gaza Strip, claimed the lives of 3,823 in Lebanon and at least 119 others in Israel.
While the U.S.-brokered ceasefire has ended the fighting, the conflict is not yet resolved. Israel has already warned that it would respond to any violation by Hezbollah. The IDF has already warned that the enforcement of the ceasefire could potentially lead to several days of fighting with Hezbollah in the future.
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the “us” nazis have give the cannibals occupying palestine a new reason to shot civilians; “peace”. its exactly as to read about the genocide in north america.