Israel’s deadly attack on a vehicle in south Lebanon was another violation of the ceasefire [Getty]
An Israeli airstrike targeted a car in Sidon, southern Lebanon, killing one person on Monday, as Israel announced it will continue its occupation beyond tomorrow’s withdrawal date, a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement.
A body, confirmed by Hamas to be that of military commander Muhammad Shahin, was recovered from a vehicle hit by an Israeli drone on the coastal road, state news agency NNA reported.
It comes amid reports that Israel is set to maintain its occupation of five posts in Lebanese territory, close to the Sea of Galilee after the deadline for their pullout passes.
The rest of the Israeli invasion force is expected to pull back on Monday evening, Haaretz added.
Israel escalated its attacks on targets deep within Lebanon on the eve of the 18 February Israeli army withdrawal deadline, during which all of its forces must end their occupation of Lebanese territory.
Israel announced it will leave small numbers of troops at five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after the expiration of an 18 February deadline for the troops to withdraw, an Israeli military spokesperson said on Monday.
“We need to remain at those points at the moment to defend Israeli citizens, to make sure this process is complete and eventually hand it over to the Lebanese armed forces,” military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told a briefing with reporters, adding that the move was in accordance with the mechanism of the ceasefire agreement.
Officials in Lebanon have demanded Israel’s full withdrawal by Tuesday after Israeli forces missed an earlier January cut-off under a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow,” President Joseph Aoun said in a statement from his office before the Israeli announcement.
“The Lebanese response will be through a unified, comprehensive national position,” he added.
This coincided with Israeli warplanes carrying out airstrikes in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon yesterday, as the Israeli army claimed to have targeted “several military sites containing rocket shells and weapons in Lebanon”.
In a statement, the army said: “Air Force fighter jets recently conducted precise, intelligence-guided strikes on multiple military sites containing rocket shells and weapons inside Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity.”
It claimed Hezbollah activities” at these sites violated the ceasefire agreement.
However, Israel has not allowed the Lebanese Armed Forces to take positions in the areas determined by the ceasefire, including at the sites Israel has attacked, claiming that they are not ready. Lebanon has countered that its forces are ready to be deployed and Israel is deliberately stalling.
The Israeli military has also repeatedly violated the ceasefire with airstrikes on civilian areas and the mass demolition of residential areas and civil infrastructure in occupied Lebanese towns and villages. In fact, according to a study by The Washington Post, Israel has destroyed or damages more buildings in Lebanese villages in the south during the ceasefire than during its brutal attack on the country.
On 26 January, the last withdrawal date before an extension was agreed, 22 Lebanese civilians were massacred by the Israeli army as they tried to return to their homes in the south.
The Israeli strikes coincided with a speech by Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, who reaffirmed the necessity of Israel’s full withdrawal from all Lebanese territories occupied during its recent aggression, including the five disputed points.
He emphasised that it is primarily and exclusively the responsibility of the Lebanese state to work diligently toward achieving this withdrawal.
There are fears that Israel is entrenching its occupation of south Lebanon, with claims that Israel’s mass destruction of villages is setting up large swathes of Lebanese territory for an Israeli buffer zone.
