Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described, this Monday, December 2, a “serious violation” of the truce an attack by Hezbollah towards a contested area on the borders of Lebanon and the Syrian Golan annexed by Israel.
“Hezbollah’s firing towards Har Dov (the Hebrew name of the area known as Shebaa Farms, Editor’s note) is a serious violation of the ceasefire and Israel will react forcefully. We are determined to uphold the ceasefire. fire and respond to any violation by Hezbollah, from the slightest to the most serious,” said Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a press release from his office.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing on an Israeli military position on Monday, for the first time since the truce with Israel. The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah and who negotiated the truce on its behalf, initially claimed that Israel had violated the ceasefire agreement entered into on “at least 54 occasions”. effective November 27. He called on the committee responsible for overseeing the truce, which includes the United States and France, “to urgently begin its action and force Israel to stop its violations and withdraw” from Lebanese territory.
The head of French diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot, insisted on Monday with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, on “the need for all parties to respect the ceasefire”, his ministry indicated. The United States, for its part, assured that the truce still held, with Washington affirming that it was examining the allegations of violations.
A “first defensive response”
The Israeli minister rejected accusations of violation of the ceasefire. “On the contrary, Israel is enforcing it” in response “to Hezbollah’s violations which call for immediate action,” he said in a statement.
Hezbollah then said it had carried out fire on an Israeli military position, on “the occupied hills of Kfar Chouba”, a disputed border area claimed by Lebanon. This is a “first defensive response” to “violations” of the ceasefire by Israel, he said in a statement.
The Israeli army reported “two projectiles”, which did not cause any injuries. “We promised to act against any violation of the ceasefire, which is exactly what we will do,” declared Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, assuring that a “strong response” would respond to the shots from Hezbollah “towards an army base in Har Dov”, the Israeli name for Shebaa Farms, a neighboring area of Kfar Chouba.
Several Israeli strikes have targeted Lebanon since the ceasefire came into force, without Hezbollah announcing any response so far.