Israel Accuses Hezbollah of Ceasefire Violation, Orders Displacement in Southern Lebanon

The Israeli military has accused Hezbollah of launching three projectiles towards northern Israel in what it described as a blatant ceasefire violation, hours after issuing forced displacement orders for residents of more than two dozen towns in southern Lebanon.

Israel continues to attack Lebanon despite Iran saying the country is included in a proposed memorandum of understanding with the US to end the war in the region. Israel says it is responding to Hezbollah missiles and drones.

Israeli warnings on Sunday covered 29 locations – 25 in Nabatieh district and four in Sidon district – with people in those communities told to flee north of the Zahrani River immediately.

An Israeli military spokesperson said the forced displacement orders on Sunday included the towns of Jbaa, Houmin al-Tahta, Ansar and Kfar Sir.

Shortly after the announcement, Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground reported that an Israeli air strike hit the town of Froun in the Bint Jbeil district.

“Once again, the focus is on that southern city of Nabatieh,” said Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut. “It used to be a large, thriving city. It’s now home to one of the only hospitals still functioning in the south, and it has been pounded by Israeli air strikes over the last couple of weeks, leading to widespread destruction.”

Meanwhile, there is anxiety in Lebanon at the prospect of an Iran-US deal, she said. After the US and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire in April, Lebanon suffered its deadliest day of the war with more than 350 killed.

“The last time that the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire deal, Israel said that Lebanon wasn’t part of that agreement and sought to make that extremely clear by striking more than 100 locations in Lebanon in the span of 10 minutes,” Pett said. “And the concern is that that is their stance once again, that they’re not party to this deal, that they will not be withdrawing.”

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir repeated calls on Sunday for more Israeli attacks on Hezbollah.

Ben-Gvir said a missile should be fired for every drone sent from Lebanon by Hezbollah. He also called for the killing of “a thousand” Hezbollah fighters for “every hair on the head” of an Israeli soldier harmed.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for attacks on Hezbollah strongholds in the southern Beirut suburbs of Dahiyeh after two drones entered Israeli territory.

“The fire toward the northern communities is a test of the Dahiyeh equation that the prime minister announced,” Smotrich said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I call on him to implement it with determination and force and bring down additional buildings in Dahiyeh today. We are in critical days of shaping the region for many years to come. We promised security to the residents of the north, and we must deliver,” Israel National News quoted him as saying.