The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, called for respect for the ceasefire in Lebanon, after Israeli forces bombed alleged targets of the Shiite group Hezbollah, supported by Tehran, in the south of the country. Iran condemned this Friday what it called “savage” attacks by Israel, following Thursday’s attacks in Lebanon against Hezbollah targets.
“We once again urge the parties to respect the cessation of hostilities and to refrain from any act or activity that could endanger the civilian population,” Farhan Haq, Guterres’ spokesman, said on Thursday.
The Israeli army announced attacks against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, after the Shiite group demands the right to defense and rejects negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the air strikes left at least one dead and eight injured in the city of Tora.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry lamented what it called “savage attacks” and called on the United Nations, the international community and countries in the region to “confront Israel’s belligerence.”
António Guterres’ spokesman confirmed that the UN received “reports of Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon, including in the area of operations” of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (FINUL).
In another statement, FINUL, which ends its mandate in 2026, after almost five decades on the ground, demanded that Israel “immediately cease” attacks carried out in Lebanon and warned that they could “compromise hard-won progress”.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of responding with aggression to his availability for negotiations.
“The more Lebanon expresses its readiness for peaceful negotiations in order to resolve outstanding issues with Israel, Israel continues its aggression against Lebanese sovereignty“, criticized the Lebanese leader.
For its part, the Lebanese army stated that these attacks are part of “a continuation of Israel’s destructive strategy”, with the aim of “undermining the stability of Lebanon, expanding the devastation in the south [do país]perpetuate the war and maintain the threat against civilians”, in addition to preventing the completion of the deployment of Lebanese troops to the border region between the two countries. The November 27, 2024 ceasefire agreement ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel.
In this sense, he highlighted “close coordination” with FINUL, with which he maintains a relationship characterized by a “high degree of trust and cooperation”.
The Israeli military claimed attacks on weapons depots and installations of the Radwan Force, an elite unit of the Shiite group, which had previously declared its “legitimate right” to defense and opposition to direct negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv.
The army asked residents of four villages – Aita al-Jabal, al-Taybeh, Tayr Debba and Zawtar El Charqiyeh – to abandon their homes, warning that it would attack Hezbollah’s military infrastructure.
In an open letter to the Lebanese population and leaders, Hezbollah justifies its refusal to dialogue with the Israel’s alleged attempt to drag Lebanon into an agreement that “does not serve the national interest”.
Hezbollah is part of the so-called resistance axis supported by Tehran and became involved in military hostilities with Israel, shortly after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, in October 2023, in support of the Palestinian ally Hamas.
Israel has intensified its air strikes in Lebanon in recent weeks, justifying that it wants to prevent the Islamic movement from rebuilding its infrastructure.