The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Tuesday that it carried out a strike against an armed terrorist cell operating near Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement between the sides.
According to the military, the suspects were identified near Israeli forces in the Ali Taher Ridge area. The IDF said the operatives were targeted north of the security zone in order to “remove the threat.”
The strike came amid continued tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border despite the ceasefire framework currently in place.
Lebanese media reported earlier that two people were killed and several others wounded in Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon. The reports followed the Israeli operation in the area.
Hezbollah condemned the strike and said it represented a breach of the ceasefire arrangement.
In a statement, the organization said: “The Islamic Resistance warns that the enemy’s action constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire, which the resistance has adhered to until now.”
The incident also drew a response from Iran. Following reports of the Israeli strike, Iran’s representative to the United Nations warned that developments on the ground could affect ongoing diplomatic efforts.
“Any violation of the memorandum of understanding will pose challenges to the negotiations,” the representative said.
Israel’s military maintained that the operation was directed at an immediate threat and linked it to what it described as repeated violations by Hezbollah.
The IDF said that overnight, forces also conducted a broader wave of operations against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
“In order to remove threats and in response to the blatant violations by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, the IDF struck dozens of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites and operatives in southern Lebanon overnight,” the military said.
According to the IDF, the targets included rocket-launching positions, weapons depots, and command centers.
The military reiterated that it continues to operate under the ceasefire framework while reserving the right to respond to threats.
