Lebanon appeals to US, France to prevent Israeli strikes on Beirut
Hezbollah denies involvement in attack on northern Israeli border town as IAF jets strike terror group’s sites in southern Lebanon; Lebanese president, PM call for de-escalation
Lebanese leaders have been in intensive contact with Washington and Paris to prevent Israel from bombing Beirut, a Lebanese official said Monday, after Israel retaliated to rocket fire from southern Lebanon with heavy strikes on the country over the weekend.
Israel launched two waves of airstrikes on Lebanon on Saturday in response to rocket fire from southern Lebanon at the northern border community of Metula, marking the first strike on Israel from Lebanese territory since a ceasefire took effect on November 27.
The IDF said its air defenses intercepted three projectiles that crossed the border, while the other three rockets fell short in Lebanon.
Israeli strikes targeted several Hezbollah sites in the region, including rocket launchers, killing eight people. The Iran-backed terror group denied involvement in the rocket fire.
Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, the official said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam “made diplomatic contact with France and the United States… as well as with the UN to achieve de-escalation following Israeli threats to target Beirut.”
The US, France and the United Nations belong to a ceasefire monitoring mechanism.
During the two months of full-scale war leading up to the ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes pounded the south Beirut bastion of Hezbollah, while occasionally striking the city center.
Salam “emphasized the need to control security and prevent a repeat of rocket fire” against Israel, the official added.
No party has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, which a military source said was launched from an area north of the Litani River, between the villages of Kfar Tebnit and Arnoun, near the zone covered by the ceasefire agreement.
The agreement stipulates that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers may be deployed south of the Litani River, with Hezbollah required to dismantle its infrastructure and withdraw north of the river.
Israel missed two deadlines to withdraw all its forces across the UN-demarcated Blue Line, the de facto border, and continues to hold five positions it deems “strategic.”
The Lebanese army said later it dismantled three makeshift rocket batteries in the area, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Israeli border.
A military source told AFP the army detained two Syrians who were “working as guards at a farm near the rocket-launching site.” The Syrians reported seeing a car with several men who set up the launchers and fired the rockets before leaving.
The Times of Israel Community.