Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday reiterated Beirut’s commitment to a UN resolution that ended a 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, as cross-border fires continued to intensify along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Hezbollah has continuously violated this resolution since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Mikati made a surprise trip to southern Lebanon on Tuesday as Israel and the terror group – a key Hamas ally – continued to engage in deadly cross-border gunfire, while Israel and its Western allies have repeatedly warned the group against escalation.
Since October 7, when Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel from Gaza, brutally murdering at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 200 others hostage in a deadly rampage, Hezbollah has been operating unhindered against Israel along Lebanon’s border with Israel and fires rockets and anti-tank missiles at Israeli cities and army positions and opens fire on troops almost daily. The IDF responded with attacks on the terrorist group’s cells and posts in southern Lebanon.
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During his visit, the acting prime minister emphasized Lebanon’s commitment to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006. This resolution called for the demilitarization of all groups except state security forces in southern Lebanon. Israel has claimed for years that Hezbollah, which operates with impunity throughout Lebanon, completely defies the resolution.
“We have come to the beloved South … to reaffirm peace-loving Lebanon’s respect for all legitimate international resolutions and its commitment to the implementation of Resolution 1701,” Mikati said, according to a statement.
Mikati and Lebanese Army Commander Joseph Aoun visited troops and the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force Peacekeeping Mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) during the trip, the statement from the Prime Minister’s Media Office said.
UNIFIL was largely absent as Hezbollah increased its border attacks.
IDF troops are seen in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, October 24, 2023. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
On Tuesday, the IDF said anti-tank missiles had been fired from Lebanon at the Shtula and Manara areas on the border. There were no injuries in the attacks. The military said it carried out a drone strike against a terrorist in southern Lebanon who was trying to fire rockets at Israel, and later attacked two other cells in southern Lebanon that fired mortars and anti-tank missiles at army posts and nearby towns on the border.
Iran-backed Hezbollah said Tuesday that its militants had attacked Israeli positions, including with guided missiles and artillery shells. The group said six of its members were killed on Tuesday, bringing the reported death toll on the Lebanese side since violence erupted earlier this month to 47, most of them Hezbollah operatives but also four civilians, one of them a Portal journalist.
At least six Israeli soldiers, 35 Hezbollah gunmen and six Palestinian gunmen were killed in the clashes. An Israeli civilian was killed in a Hezbollah attack, and several Lebanese civilians and a journalist were also reportedly killed by Israeli fire.
Israel, the United States, France and other Western nations have repeatedly warned Hezbollah against significant involvement in the ongoing war. The Pentagon said it would not hesitate to act if the situation escalates along the border.
During his visit to Israel on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron – whose country has close ties with Lebanon – singled out Hezbollah, Iran and Yemen’s Houthis as he said they “should not take the rash risk of opening new fronts.” “.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.