Ceasefire reportedly ambiguous on whether Israel can respond to Hezbollah violations north of Litani

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah doesn’t include explicit language stating that Israel has the freedom to respond if the Lebanese terror group violates the agreement in areas north of Lebanon’s Litani River, Channel 12 news reports.

According to the report, the deal states that Israel will report any such violation to the US-led international body that is expected to oversee the deal, which will then convene to discuss how serious the violation is.

However, the wording about whether Israel then has the right to respond is ambiguous, unlike in cases when there are violations south of the Litani River or if there’s an immediate threat.

The report says that the deal provides for Israel to hit back right away in the face of an “immediate threat,” and that this includes arms smuggling. As regards a so-called “present threat,” such as tunnel digging, Israel would inform the international body and could then choose to wait or take action.