Aoun, Salam, Berri accuse Israel of flagrant ceasefire violation
Lebanon's leaders accused Israel of a "flagrant" ceasefire violation by launching strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday ahead of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.
President Joseph Aoun in a statement voiced "firm condemnation of the Israeli aggression" and called the strikes a "blatant violation of an international agreement, as well as the basic principles of international and humanitarian laws and resolutions, on the eve of a sacred religious occasion". He said it demonstrates Israel's "rejection of the requirements of stability, settlement and just peace in our region."
Aoun accused Israel of using Lebanon as a "mailbox" to send a message to the United States. He did not elaborate. Washington has been negotiating with Iran - Hezbollah's longtime backer - for a deal over Tehran's nuclear program and has warned Israel not to strike Iran in the meantime.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also issued statements condemning the strikes, which came despite a November 27 ceasefire.
At least six Israeli air strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday night, after the military said it would target underground Hezbollah drone factories.
The Israeli military had said it would "soon carry out a strike on underground UAV (drone) production infrastructure sites that were deliberately established in the heart of (the) civilian population" in Beirut.
Israel and Hezbollah engaged in more than a year of hostilities that began with the outbreak of the Gaza war and culminated in an intense Israeli bombing campaign and ground incursion into southern Lebanon.
A November ceasefire sought to end the fighting -- which left Hezbollah severely weakened -- but Israel has continued to regularly carry out strikes in Lebanon's south.
Strikes targeting Beirut's southern suburbs, considered a Hezbollah stronghold, have been rare, however.
"Following Hezbollah's extensive use of UAVs as a central component of its terrorist attacks on the state of Israel, the terrorist organization is operating to increase production of UAVs for the next war," the military statement said, calling the activities "a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon".
A Hezbollah official denied that there were drone production facilities at the targeted locations.
“In the (ceasefire) agreement, there is a mechanism for investigating if there is a complaint,” the official said. “Israel in general, and Netanyahu in particular, wants to continue the war in the region.”
A Lebanese army official said the army had attempted to convince Israel not to carry out the strikes and to instead let Lebanese officials go in to search the area under the mechanism laid out in the ceasefire agreement, but that the Israeli army refused, so Lebanese soldiers moved away from the locations. Israeli army officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Both Lebanese officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
