Lebanese PM condemns wave of Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has denounced a wave of Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon, calling on the international community to pressure Israel to respect a ceasefire reached in November with Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said on Thursday that the Israeli military struck a building in Toul, a town in the Nabatieh governorate. The army had earlier warned residents to evacuate the area around a building it said was used by Hezbollah.
Lebanese media outlets also reported Israeli bombardment in the towns of Soujod, Touline, Sawanna and the Rihan Mountain – all in the country's south.
In a statement, Salam's office said the Israeli attacks come at a 'dangerous' time, just days before municipal elections in Lebanon's southern districts on Saturday.
The contests are expected to be dominated by Hezbollah and its allies, and there have been growing concerns about the safety of voters, especially in border towns, amid the continued Israeli occupation of parts of southern Lebanon.
'Prime Minister Salam stresses that these violations will not thwart the state's commitment to holding the elections and protecting Lebanon and the Lebanese,' his office said in its statement.
As part of the November ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah fighters were to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle military infrastructure south of that demarcation line.
For its part, Israel was to withdraw all forces from Lebanon but it has kept troops in parts of south Lebanon. It argues it must maintain a presence there for 'strategic' reasons.
The truce was based on a UN Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only people to bear arms in southern Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.
On Thursday, the Israeli military said its forces had carried out several strikes targeting Hezbollah sites and killed one fighter in the southern Lebanon town of Rab el-Thalathine.
Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the Israeli army's claim.
Separately, a shepherd was injured in a different Israeli attack nearby, the NNA reported.
The Israeli military said its forces also 'struck a Hezbollah military site containing rocket launchers and weapons' in the Bekaa Valley in northeastern Lebanon.
The NNA described Israel's attacks as some of the heaviest since the ceasefire went into effect.
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