Netanyahu threatens ‘intensive war’ if Hezbollah breaches fragile truce

BEIRUT: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Hezbollah Thursday with an “intensive war” if it breaches a fragile Lebanon ceasefire, which on its second day is straining under pressure from both sides.

Hours before, the Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah weapons facility in south Lebanon, where it said “terrorist activity was identified”. Earlier it opened fire on people it said were in breach of the truce.

The ceasefire, which came into effect before dawn on Wednesday, seeks to end a war that has killed thousands in Lebanon and sparked mass displacements in both Lebanon and Israel.

“If necessary, I gave a directive to the (Israeli army)” to wage “an intensive war” in the event of any breach of the truce, Netanyahu said in an interview with Israeli broadcaster Channel 14.

Earlier, the Israeli military had said “terrorist activity was identified in a facility used by Hezbollah to store mid-range rockets in southern Lebanon,” adding that “the threat was thwarted” by its air force.

Nazih Eid, mayor of Baysariyeh in south Lebanon, told AFP a strike had hit an area of his town.

“They targeted a forested area not accessible to civilians,” he said.

The deal to end the war in Lebanon was brokered by Israel’s top ally the US and France.

Under the agreement, Israeli troops will hold their positions but “a 60-day period will commence in which the Lebanese military and security forces will begin their deployment towards the south”, a US official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Then, Israel should begin a phased withdrawal without a vacuum forming that Hezbollah or others could rush into, the official said.

Two wounded

On Thursday, the Lebanese army deployed across the south, where Hezbollah has long held sway and only the army and UN peacekeepers are to maintain an armed presence under the terms of the ceasefire.

The Israeli and Lebanese militaries have both called on residents of frontline villages to avoid returning home immediately.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli fire wounded two people in a border village, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

The Israeli army said that “over the past hour, several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire”.

The army “opened fire toward them”, the statement said, adding that the Israeli military “remains in southern Lebanon and will actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement”.

For the most part, however, the ceasefire appeared to be holding.

A Lebanese army source said its forces were “conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints” south of the Litani River, without advancing into areas where Israeli forces were still present.

The Israeli army on Thursday announced a nighttime curfew for areas south of the river, some 30km from the border.

Devastation

While there was joy around Lebanon that the war has ended, the country faces a long recovery.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese who fled their homes during the war have headed back to their towns and villages only to find them devastated.

“Despite all the destruction and the sorrow, we are happy to be back,” said Umm Mohammed Bzeih, a widow who fled the southern village of Zibqin with her four children two months ago.

“I feel as if our souls have returned,” she said, visibly exhausted as she swept up the shattered glass and rubble that carpeted the floor.

In the border village of Qlayaa, residents threw rice and flowers to celebrate the arrival of Lebanese soldiers.

The majority-Christian village is nestled in an area that is home mostly to Shiite Muslim communities.

Lebanon is deeply divided along political and sectarian lines, with Hezbollah long dominant among the Shiite population.

“We only want the Lebanese army,” chanted residents of Qlayaa, as they clapped and cheered for the troops and waved the Lebanese flag.

Crisis

Even before the conflict, Lebanon had been wracked for years by political and economic crises, with World Bank figures from earlier this year indicating poverty had tripled in a decade.

On Thursday, there was a glimmer of hope as the NNA reported parliament would meet to elect a president on Jan 9, ending a two-year vacuum.

On Wednesday, in its first statement after the ceasefire, Hezbollah said its fighters would “remain in total readiness to deal with the Israeli enemy’s ambitions and its attacks”.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP his group was cooperating in the army’s deployment to the south, adding the group had “no visible weapons or bases” in the area.

Scepticism

In northern Israel, which has come under steady attack from Hezbollah for more than a year, there was hope tinged with scepticism over whether the truce might last.

Nissim Ravivo, a 70-year-old in the coastal city of Nahariya near the border with Lebanon, voiced disappointment.

“It’s a shame, we should have continued for at least another two months and finished the job,” he said. “We still don’t feel safe and we are not happy about it.”

Lebanon says at least 3,961 people have been killed in the country since October 2023, most of them in recent weeks.

On the Israeli side, the hostilities with Hezbollah killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities there say.