(CLO) On December 3, Israel warned that it would attack the entire state of Lebanon if the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah collapsed, after the bloodiest day since the ceasefire was signed last week.
In its strongest threat since a ceasefire was agreed to end 14 months of fighting with Hezbollah, Israel said the Lebanese government would be held accountable for failing to disarm militants who violated the agreement.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Katz stressed: "If we return to war, we will act more strongly, and the most important thing to know is that there is no more immunity for the Lebanese state... We will no longer separate the Lebanese state from Hezbollah."
Israeli soldiers gather near tanks during a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, December 3. Photo: Reuters
Despite a ceasefire agreed last week, Israeli forces have continued to strike targets they say are Hezbollah fighters not complying with the agreement.
On December 2, Hezbollah shelled an Israeli military post. Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities reported that at least 12 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. Another person in Lebanon was killed on December 3 in a drone strike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any ceasefire violation, no matter how small, would be punished. "We are enforcing this ceasefire with an iron fist. We are now in a ceasefire, not the end of the war," he said.
Senior Lebanese officials have asked the United States and France to pressure Israel to maintain a ceasefire, following a series of military attacks on Lebanese territory that it says violate the agreement.
Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri held talks with officials at the White House and the French President's office late on December 2.
Mr Mikati said diplomatic talks had intensified since December 2 to prevent Israel from violating the ceasefire, adding that the Lebanese army was carrying out an operation to increase its presence in the south.
US State Department spokesman Matt Miller said the ceasefire was "still holding", although the US also predicted there could be violations.
The ceasefire, which took effect on November 27, prohibits Israel from launching military attacks on Lebanon and requires Lebanon to stop armed activities by Hezbollah and other armed groups against Israel. It also requires Israeli troops to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days.
A US-led mission is tasked with monitoring, verifying and supporting the implementation of the ceasefire, but it has yet to begin operations.
Mikati met in Beirut on December 2 with US General Jasper Jeffers, who will chair the oversight committee. General Guillaume Ponchin, the French representative on the committee, will arrive in Beirut on December 5 and the committee will hold its first meeting on December 6, two sources said.
Ngoc Anh (according to AJ, Reuters)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/israel-doa-tan-cong-ca-nha-nuoc-lebanon-neu-lenh-ngung-ban-voi-hezbollah-sup-do-post324094.html
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