Israel has violated Lebanon ceasefire on 129 occasions

The Israeli army continues to violate the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with 12 new violations on Wednesday, bringing the total to 129 since the agreement began a week ago, according to data from the National News Agency.

Local sources reported today that occupation army bulldozers constructed earth barriers on the road between Shebaa and Birkat Al-Naqqar, protected by Merkava tanks, with the aim of preventing the Lebanese army from reaching a previously-occupied position. This move comes a day after the Lebanese army redeployed to three locations on the western edge of the town of Shebaa, after withdrawing from this area about two months ago towards the Janam axis north of the town. As part of its escalation, the Israeli army today blew up houses in the Al-Harsh area in the town of Yaroun, in Bint Jbeil District.

Moreover, Lebanese civil defence teams in Naqoura were subjected to Israeli artillery shelling this afternoon while they were working to remove the rubble and search for victims of earlier bombing, according to the official Lebanese News Agency, which explained that Israeli forces detonated a booby-trapped drone near the teams, which prompted them to withdraw.

In a new statement, the Israeli army announced today that it has imposed a ban on the residents of 62 villages in southern Lebanon returning to their homes or moving south from a line that passes around these villages, in a move that constitutes a clear violation of international law and the right of civilians to return to their homes.

This comes amid Lebanese reports indicating a possible visit to Beirut by US envoy Amos Hochstein, who played a pivotal mediation role to follow up on the launch of the five-party ceasefire monitoring mechanism. Such a visit would come after warnings that delaying the activation of the mechanism may give Israel an opportunity to achieve what it did not achieve during the war.

The Lebanese army announced today that its units will carry out operations between 10:00am and 4:00pm to detonate unexploded ordnance left over from the Israeli invasion. The army statement indicated that the explosions will take place in the Qlaila-Tyre and Arnoun-Nabatieh fields, in addition to the Shabriha-Tyre area and the outskirts of Ras Baalbek.

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