Israel warns of 'no calm in Beirut' until Hezbollah is disarmed
Israel's Defence Minister has warned there will be "no calm in Beirut' until Hezbollah is disarmed. Israel Katz made the remarks hours after the Lebanese capital was hit by air strikes as people prepared to celebrate the Eid Al Adha holiday.
Israel said the attacks on Thursday night – latest breach of a ceasefire agreement – were launched against Hezbollah "drone factories" in Beirut's southern suburbs, without providing evidence.
'There will be no calm in Beirut, and no order or stability in Lebanon, without security for the state of Israel," Mr Katz said in a statement.
'Agreements must be honoured and if you do not do what is required, we will continue to act, and with great force,' he said in a threat to the Lebanese government.
The Israeli military issued an eviction order for the sites about an hour before launching its attack, causing residents of the densely populated areas to flee.
On Friday morning, the Lebanese army accused Israel of ignoring an international ceasefire monitoring mechanism and bombing Beirut despite efforts to prevent the attack.
Continued Israeli breaches may compel the military to suspend its co-operation with the ceasefire monitoring committee regarding inspections of alleged Hezbollah sites, the army said.
The monitoring mechanism is led by the US and oversees the implementation of the ceasefire agreed on in November last year. Lebanon has accused Israel of breaching the truce more than 3,000 times.
The army said it contacted and co-ordinated with the monitoring mechanism after the Israel military issued its eviction order, in an effort to prevent the strikes.
'Patrols also headed to a number of sites to inspect them, despite the [Israeli] rejection of the proposal,' it said. 'The army command condemns these attacks, particularly the latest one, which came on the eve of the holidays in a clear attempt by the enemy to obstruct our nation's progress, recovery and ability to benefit from the positive conditions available."
Under the truce, Hezbollah fighters must withdraw to north of the Litani River, about 30km from the border with Israel, and dismantle military posts further south. Israel was supposed to withdraw from Lebanese territory, but has failed to do so and continues to bomb southern Lebanon on a daily basis.
The Lebanese army has sent soldiers to the south to remove Hezbollah infrastructure there. Lebanon's leaders say they want to bring all arms under state control as soon as possible, but through diplomatic means.
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