Israeli-Hezbollah Counterattacks Leave at Least 9 Dead in Lebanon

The Israeli army stated that in response to Hezbollah's mortar attack, it targeted dozens of positions related to this group in various regions of Lebanon; meanwhile, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that at least 9 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the south of the country. On Monday evening, December 12, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that five people were killed in the Haris area and four in the Taloush area due to Israeli airstrikes in the Nabatieh province in southern Lebanon. Earlier, the official Lebanese news agency reported multiple Israeli attacks in the south and east of the country. On the other hand, the Israeli army announced in a statement that these attacks were carried out in response to Hezbollah's mortar attack, targeting 'dozens of terrorist facilities throughout Lebanon.' According to Israel, its attacks began after Hezbollah fired two mortars at the Shebaa Farms (referred to as 'Mount Dov' in Israel). Following this attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of a 'serious violation' of the ceasefire and emphasized that this attack would be responded to 'decisively.' The Israeli Prime Minister also stated that his country is determined to maintain the ceasefire but will respond to any 'minor or serious' violations by Hezbollah. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group, claimed responsibility for the attack on 'Israeli positions in the Kfarshouba Heights.' The reciprocal attacks between Hezbollah and Israel occur while both sides had recently agreed on a ceasefire after weeks of fighting, which was implemented on Wednesday, December 7. Over the past six days, both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire, with Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, attributing 54 violations to Israel. According to AFP, on Monday, Jean-Noël Barrot, the French Foreign Minister, emphasized the 'necessity for all parties to respect the ceasefire' in a call with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar. The Israeli Foreign Minister rejected the accusation of violating the ceasefire and instead held Hezbollah responsible for the violations. France is one of the members of the ceasefire monitoring committee established under the leadership of the United States. The Israeli Defense Minister also warned the Beirut government on Tuesday, December 13, that if the established ceasefire with Lebanon is violated and Israel's interests are threatened, Lebanon's infrastructure would no longer be 'exempt' from Israeli attacks. Yisrael Katz, during a visit to his country's northern border, added that Israel would respond to any breach of the ceasefire agreement 'with the quickest response and without the slightest tolerance.' He stated that Israel has so far distinguished between Lebanon and Hezbollah, but this approach would change in the event of a ceasefire violation. According to Mr. Katz, his country responded 'powerfully' to Hezbollah's action on Monday in firing two rockets at 'Dov Hill,' but would no longer allow Hezbollah to test Israel as in the past. The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Tuesday that the Washington government had asked Israel to 'tolerate' Hezbollah's rocket attack on Monday and to refrain from 'disproportionate response' such as attacking Beirut. For the first time in 14 months of military campaigning in northern Israel, the Israeli government held a meeting on Tuesday in the northern city of Nahariya to express solidarity with the people of these areas to approve the reconstruction of damaged places and allocate budget for the prosperity of its northern regions. The coastal city of Nahariya was targeted by repeated rocket and drone attacks from Hezbollah in the last two months of the war. Mojtaba Amani, the injured Iranian ambassador in the explosion of Hezbollah's pager group, who returned to Beirut this week after two months of treatment in Tehran, visited the sites of the deaths of Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safi al-Din in the Dahiyeh area on Tuesday.