Truce deal breached after renewed attacks

BEIRUT — The Israeli military said its air force struck a facility used by Hezbollah to store midrange rockets in southern Lebanon on Thursday after both sides accused each other of breaching a cease-fire that aims to halt the fighting.

Israel said it also opened fire on Thursday toward what it called "suspects" with vehicles arriving at several areas in the southern zone, saying it was a breach of the truce with Hezbollah, which came into effect on Wednesday.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, in turn accused Israel of violating the deal. "The Israeli enemy is attacking those returning to the border villages," Fadlallah told reporters.

The Lebanese army later accused Israel of violating the cease-fire several times on Wednesday and Thursday.

And on Friday, four Israeli tanks entered the western side of the Lebanese border village of Khiyam, Lebanon's official news agency said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged pressure on Israel to stop its violations of the cease-fire agreement, according to a statement by the Council of Ministers. Mikati made the remarks during a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.

The exchange of accusations highlighted the fragility of the cease-fire, which was brokered by the United States and France to end the fighting in Lebanon running parallel to the Gaza conflict. The 60-day truce was set in the hope of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities.

Israel's airstrike on Thursday was the first since the truce took effect. Lebanese security sources and the Al Jadeed broadcaster said it took place near Baysariyah, north of the Litani River. The cease-fire deal stipulates that unauthorized military facilities south of the Litani River should be dismantled but does not mention military facilities north of the river.

Earlier, Israeli tank fire hit five towns and some agricultural fields in southern Lebanon, Lebanese security sources said, adding that at least two people were wounded.

All the areas lie within 2 kilometers of the "Blue Line" demarcating the border between Lebanon and Israel, in an area the Israeli military has announced as a no-go zone along the border.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had directed the military to be prepared for intense fighting if the cease-fire is violated.

Lebanese return home

Lebanese families displaced from their homes near the southern border have tried to return to check on their properties. However, Israeli troops remain stationed within Lebanese territory in towns along the border, and Reuters reporters heard surveillance drones flying over parts of southern Lebanon.

The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah in years. But Israel is still fighting its other arch-foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

In central Gaza, at least 27 Palestinians were killed on Thursday as Israeli forces continued to pound targets across the Gaza Strip, focusing on the Nuseirat camp.

Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza reported receiving 16 bodies and 55 injured people since the morning following heavy air and artillery strikes in the Nuseirat area.

The World Health Organization, or WHO, warned on Thursday of dire shortages of medicines, food, shelter, and fuel in Gaza, especially in the north, demanding that Israel allow in more aid and facilitate humanitarian operations. The WHO described a "catastrophic" situation on the ground.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that when the fighting in Gaza erupted more than a year ago, almost all of those displaced by the conflict sheltered in public buildings or with family members.

"Now, 90 percent are living in tents," he told a media conference at the WHO's headquarters in Geneva.

The situation was particularly dire in the blockaded north, where a UN-backed assessment this month said famine looms.

Agencies - Xinhua