The Middle East
On Tuesday, Israel continued its military operations in southern Lebanon and expanded its air strikes, despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement of reaching an understanding for a mutual cessation of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, at a time when field facts reflected Hezbollah’s practical commitment to calm by limiting its operations to Israeli forces penetrating into Lebanese territory, without announcing any attacks towards the Israeli interior, despite his announcement of his rejection of Israel’s equation that links stopping attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut with stopping targeting Israeli settlements.
While a new round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations began in Washington, Israel continued its threat to target the southern suburbs of Beirut and escalate its air and ground operations in the south, after the Lebanese embassy in Washington issued a statement overnight announcing Hezbollah’s agreement to a “mutual cessation of attacks” with Israel and being informed by US President Donald Trump of Israel’s agreement as well. However, the two parties concerned did not announce their commitment to do so.
Qamati: We agreed to a real and comprehensive ceasefire
In the first prominent political position from Hezbollah after Trump announced the agreement, the Vice-President of the party’s Political Council, Mahmoud Qamati, confirmed that the party agreed to a “real and comprehensive ceasefire,” stressing at the same time the rejection of any equation linking the southern suburbs of Beirut to the settlements in northern Israel.
Qamati said, in a television interview, that the party informed the concerned authorities of its rejection of the equation of “the suburb versus the northern settlements,” considering that this equation “cannot pass.”
He added that the party is committed to a ceasefire if it is “real and comprehensive,” stressing that its agreement to the truce came on this basis.
However, he warned, on the other hand, that any targeting of the southern suburb would be met with a response targeting locations farther than the settlements in the north, indicating that the party would continue to target the settlements if the Israeli attacks continued.
Renewed Israeli threats to the suburb
Despite talk of arrangements for calm, Israeli officials continued to launch escalatory positions. Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said on Tuesday: “Israel will attack the southern suburb of Beirut if the attacks on northern Israel continue,” stressing that his country “will not accept the bombing of the north without a strong response to the suburb.” He added that “the Israeli army’s activity inside Lebanon will continue in all circumstances,” considering that the United States had adopted what he described as “new equations” and informed the Lebanese government of them. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also announced that “Hezbollah continues to violate the ceasefire despite repeated announcements of calm,” considering that “these violations are unacceptable.”
Netanyahu had informed Trump, according to a statement issued by his office, that Israel would strike targets in Beirut if attacks from Lebanon continued, stressing that the Israeli army would continue its operations as planned in southern Lebanon.
Field escalation despite the understandings
On the ground, the Israeli army expanded its warnings to the population in southern Lebanon, where military operations continued. It renewed its warning to the residents of the city of Nabatieh, one of the largest cities, asking them to evacuate their homes immediately and head north of the Zahrani River. The warning was accompanied by a series of large-scale raids targeting Nabatieh, Kafr Benit, Al-Duwair, Shahhour, Toul, Gebshit, Al-Haniya, Al-Ghandouria, Aba, Kafrsir, Al-Jarmaq, Mahmoudiyah, Kafr Rumman, Debaal, and the surroundings of Tibnine, in addition to Srifa, Burj Qalawayh, Ansar, and Zibdin.
Israeli drones also targeted cars and motorcycles in Harouf, Toul, Srifa, and Ansar, which led to a number of deaths and injuries, including those killed in Ansar, Toul, and Harouf, while two Syrian workers were killed in a raid that targeted them inside a nursery in the town of Jabshit.
The Lebanese Army Command announced that two soldiers were moderately injured as a result of being targeted by an Israeli drone on the Habboush-Deir Al-Zahrani road.
The city of Nabatieh and its neighborhoods were subjected to intense air and artillery bombardment, including the neighborhoods of Kassar al-Zaatar, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Kafr Rumman, Kafr Benit, Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Ayta al-Jabal, Shokin, and Harj Ali al-Taher, while other raids targeted the towns of Mansouri, Srifa, Shahhour, and Ghandouriya.
Deaths in Marwaniya and losses in Tyre
In Sidon, the Lebanese Civil Defense announced the recovery of the bodies of 6 dead and the rescue of 3 wounded from under the rubble of a residential building targeted by an Israeli raid in the town of Marwaniyah on Monday night, before the Ministry of Health announced that among the victims were two children and a woman. The raid came hours after an Israeli warning to evacuate the town.
In the city of Tyre, operations to remove rubble continued after raids targeted buildings near Jabal Amel Hospital, resulting in an infinite toll of 4 dead and about 50 wounded, in addition to extensive damage to the hospital departments, the parking garage, and the surrounding buildings. The targeting of a house in the Al-Housh area led to its complete destruction and the injury of two people who were recovered from under the rubble.
The party’s operations remained within the southern front
On the other hand, Hezbollah announced the implementation of a series of operations against the advancing Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, without announcing any operation towards northern Israel.
The party said that it targeted a “Merkava” tank on the eastern outskirts of the town of Yammar al-Shaqif, and it also detonated two explosive devices in an Israeli armored force that was trying to advance towards the town of Hadatha for the eighth time in two weeks, targeting two “Merkava” tanks in the Al-Balou’ area.
He added that he targeted an Israeli force consisting of a tank and three Hummer vehicles that was advancing towards the Hamra area, north of the town of Al-Bayada.
