Israel said on the 2nd (local time) that unless Lebanon disarms Hezbollah, a pro-Iran armed faction, it will not hesitate to carry out full-fledged airstrikes beyond sporadic attacks. There are concerns that the cease-fire agreement reached in Nov. last year through U.S. mediation could be scrapped after one year. Before issuing the warning, Israel stepped up pressure by killing four Hezbollah fighters in an airstrike in southern Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel issued a direct warning at a Cabinet meeting that day. According to Reuters, Netanyahu said that Hezbollah is attempting to rearm. He then underscored that if Lebanon fails to disarm Hezbollah, we will exercise the right of self-defense under the terms of the cease-fire. He emphasized that Lebanon will not be allowed to become a new front and that we will act as necessary.
On the same day, Defense Minister Israel Katz also raised the level of offense. In a statement, Katz said that Hezbollah is playing with fire and that the Lebanese president is stalling. The Guardian reported that Katz said the Lebanese government must fulfill its promise to disarm Hezbollah and expel it from the south, adding that maximum enforcement will continue and even be strengthened.
The back-to-back warnings came right after Israel's airstrikes. The Israel Defense Forces earlier said they carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, killing four Hezbollah fighters. According to the Guardian, the military said they belonged to Hezbollah's elite Radwan force. Lebanon's health authorities also confirmed that four people were killed by Israel's airstrike on the village of Kfarsir in the Nabatieh area.
Al Jazeera reported that the Israel Defense Forces deployed ground troops the previous day to Blida, a border village in southern Lebanon. In the process, the military raided the city hall building and killed Ibrahim Salameh, a city employee who was sleeping there. The military said it was an operation to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and that troops fired in response to an immediate threat.
The two countries waged an armed conflict for more than a year, triggered by the Gaza Strip war. Then in Nov. last year, they reached a dramatic cease-fire under U.S. mediation. The core of the cease-fire agreement is that the Lebanese government guarantees that only the national security forces within the country will possess weapons. In effect, it means the disarmament of Hezbollah. The United States also pressured Lebanon after the cease-fire to implement this clause.
However, despite the cease-fire, Israel has maintained troops in five areas of southern Lebanon and carried out regular airstrikes. Israel argued that Lebanon broke its promise and has allowed Hezbollah to rearm. Hezbollah, on the other hand, has publicly observed the cease-fire but countered that the disarmament clause is limited only to southern Lebanon, leading to friction with Israel.