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In just the first week since a ceasefire commenced in Lebanon, Israeli forces have already broken the agreement and launched dozens of attacks, reports from humanitarian organizations find.
CNN’s Clarissa Ward reported on Monday, citing a UN peacekeeping source, that Israel has committed an estimated 100 violations of the ceasefire agreement that went into effect last Tuesday. UN peacekeepers are stationed in south Lebanon to monitor military activity there, as part of an agreement sprung out of Israel’s previous occupations of the region.
Other estimates have also found that Israel has continuously violated the agreement, which specifies that Israeli and Hezbollah forces must not carry out offensive attacks. Lebanese officials have counted 62 violations so far, including at least 10 just on Sunday.
A count by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor found that Israel had already committed 18 violations by the second day of the ceasefire. In one attack on Friday, the group said, Israeli soldiers fired on Lebanese people during a funeral procession that had gotten the necessary permits from UN and Lebanese military officials.
Additionally, Israeli tanks have been advancing deeper into areas they hadn’t gone into prior to the ceasefire, Euro-Med Monitor said. This is in spite of the ceasefire deal specifying that Israeli forces must withdraw from their positions in Lebanon.
“Israel’s ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon represent a serious breach of its legal obligations, including international norms and laws,” the rights group said. “This unlawful use of force undermines the sovereignty of the Lebanese state.”
According to CNN, Israel has claimed that it is merely “enforcing” the ceasefire, despite Israeli forces killing over a dozen people in Lebanon in airstrikes that Lebanese officials have said are blatant violations of the deal.
On Monday, Hezbollah carried out a retaliatory attack on an Israeli military position after Israeli forces killed two people in airstrikes. Israeli forces then carried out a series of attacks that killed nine people, according to Lebanese officials. Western U.S. news outlets have reported this incident as an “exchange” of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, though Hezbollah has claimed only one attack since the agreement began.
Meanwhile, Israel began committing seeming violations of the ceasefire immediately after it began. Just hours after it commenced, Israeli forces targeted and wounded two journalists in a southern border town in Lebanon, while, around the same time, Israeli forces reportedly shot at two civilian vehicles in south Lebanon.
Analysts say the deal has not entirely collapsed, though Israel has already threatened to resume its deadly offensive in Lebanon if it does. In the past 14 months, Israeli forces have killed over 3,600 people in Lebanon, including over 200 children just since September.
The U.S. appears to be providing cover for Israel as it commits these reported violations, with spokespeople saying that the ceasefire has been successful despite the findings of UN and Lebanese officials.
Further, according to Israeli media, the Biden administration had secretly negotiated a side deal with Israel agreeing to share intelligence about Hezbollah with Israeli forces amid the ceasefire. The side deal gives Israel a wide range to carry out attacks with U.S. backing, with the deal “recognizing Israeli freedom of action on Lebanese soil, in the event of any attempt to strengthen Hezbollah or another hostile entity there,” per Haaretz.
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