The Israeli army destroyed an extensive tunnel in southern Lebanon on Sunday, with Lebanese state media reporting strikes in the area and Iran-backed Hezbollah saying it reserves the right to respond to these attacks. The tunnel, stretching more than 200 metres and reaching a depth of over 25 metres, contained hundreds of weapons as well as several launch shafts intended to target Israel and its civilians.
Escalating Tensions
The incidents came despite a trilateral framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel under US sponsorship on Friday to pave the way for peace between the two countries and disarm Hezbollah. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported several strikes Sunday, including on the southern city of Nabatieh, with the Lebanese health ministry saying two people were wounded by an Israeli stun grenade in the south.
In response to the attacks on Sunday, Hezbollah said it 'reiterates that what the enemy has done is a blatant violation of the ceasefire to which it has adhered until now, and that it is monitoring and tracking these violations, and reserves its right to defend its homeland and its people'. The Israeli army said one of its soldiers 'fell in combat' in southern Lebanon, and later said it killed a 'Hezbollah terrorist' who had clashed with its forces.
Background and Context
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire aimed at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told his US counterpart Donald Trump on Saturday that his country 'would assume its responsibilities' in implementing the agreement. The deal makes any Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese land conditional on Beirut disarming Hezbollah by creating 'pilot zones' that the Lebanese military will take over.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deal historic for his country and a blow to Tehran. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has insisted troops will stay in Lebanon so long as Hezbollah remains armed. Hezbollah strongly opposed the talks with Israel from the start and rejects the agreement. Leader Naim Qassem said on Saturday that the group would treat the deal as 'null and void' and described it as 'a surrender of sovereignty'.
Political Reactions
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Sunday that what 'the authorities have done amounts to sedition aimed at pushing the country into chaos and shifting the conflict from one with the enemy to an internal conflict'. Lebanese Parliament Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri said the deal would 'not pass' in its current form, calling it a dictate that does not preserve 'Lebanon's rights', vowing to confront it politically and warning against internal strife.
