Lebanon slams Israel for intensifying attacks despite calls to negotiate

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says acceptable to negociate contempt Israeli refusal, arsenic caller strikes termination 1 idiosyncratic successful the south.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has accused Israel of responding to its connection to negociate by intensifying aerial strikes, the latest of which killed a antheral riding a motorbike successful confederate Lebanon.

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire, Israel has kept troops successful 5 areas of confederate Lebanon and has continued near-daily aerial strikes, repeatedly violating the truce. Israel claims it is targeting Hezbollah, but civilians person besides been killed.

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Aoun had called for negotiations with Israel successful mid-October, aft United States President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire successful Gaza.

“Lebanon is acceptable for negotiations to extremity the Israeli occupation, but immoderate dialog … requires communal willingness, which is not the case,” Aoun said connected Friday.

Israel “is responding to this enactment by carrying retired much attacks against Lebanon … and intensifying tensions”, helium added during a gathering with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.

Lebanon’s authoritative National News Agency (NNA) said an Israeli drone targeted a antheral connected a motorbike successful the colony of Kunin connected Friday. The Ministry of Public Health reported 1 idiosyncratic was killed and different wounded.

The Israeli subject claimed it had “eliminated … a Hezbollah attraction officer” who was moving to re-establish the group’s infrastructure sites successful confederate Lebanon.

In a abstracted onslaught connected Friday, a 2nd onslaught targeted a gathering successful confederate Lebanon’s Nabatieh, the NNA said, adding that a rocket struck the extortion of the building.

The detonation echoed loudly, causing “heightened hostility and panic among residents”, it said. No casualties were reported.

Confronting ‘Israeli aggression’

Friday’s strikes came a time aft the Israeli subject killed municipal idiosyncratic Ibrahim Salameh successful an overnight raid successful the Lebanese borderline colony of Blida.

Aoun ordered the army connected Thursday to face specified incursions “in defence of Lebanese territory and the information of citizens”.

“True patriotism means sovereignty, independence, and freedom,” helium said. “Everyone successful Lebanon has a work to face concern according to their role.”

The Lebanese forces, dissimilar the equipped radical Hezbollah, person mostly stayed connected the sidelines of the struggle with Israel. But Aoun, a erstwhile commandant of the Lebanese army, appears to person yet mislaid his patience with the Israeli-forced presumption quo.

In an code connected Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem called connected the Lebanese authorities to code Israeli violations and “achieve nationalist sovereignty by expelling the Israeli occupation”.

Qassem urged the authorities to make a program to enactment the service truthful it tin face Israeli “aggression”.

Hezbollah archetypal began launching cross-border occurrence astatine Israel pursuing the outbreak of Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza successful October 2023, kicking disconnected a much than year-long struggle that culminated successful 2 months of unfastened warfare earlier past year’s ceasefire was agreed.

Israel has continued to transportation retired aerial strikes successful Lebanon, sidesplitting dozens, including civilians, archetypal responders and journalists, and has intensified the strikes successful caller days.

Israeli attacks killed astatine slightest 25 radical successful October, including 1 Syrian, according to a toll based connected figures from the Lebanese Health Ministry.

On Tuesday, the spokesperson for the UN quality rights commission, Jeremy Laurence, said Israeli forces had killed 111 civilians successful Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi asked his visiting German counterpart connected Friday to “help enactment unit connected Israel to halt its attacks”.

“Only a diplomatic solution, not a subject one, tin guarantee stableness and warrant calm successful the south,” Raggi was quoted by the NNA arsenic saying.

He added that “the Lebanese authorities is continuing to gradually instrumentality its determination to spot each weapons nether its control”.

Hezbollah was severely weakened during the war, and the US has intensified unit connected Lebanese authorities to disarm the group, thing it powerfully opposes.