BEIRUT — Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Monday it repelled an Israeli force that was trying to “advance” in southern Lebanon, despite the US-Iran agreement to end the Middle East war on all fronts including in Lebanon.
Fighters from the group “using rockets and drones” blocked an Israeli force consisting of an excavator and two Merkava tanks that was “advancing” in the vicinity of Kfar Tebnit town near the southern city of Nabatieh, the pro-Iranian group said in a statement.
In another statement late Monday, Hezbollah said: “The enemy army regrouped its forces in the vicinity of the crossing area by bringing in an armored force consisting of five Merkava tanks and four vehicles.
“The mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance targeted them with rocket barrages and artillery shells, and the clashes are still ongoing.”
Earlier on Monday, an Israeli drone targeted a car in the same area “killing its driver,” Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported, marking the first reported deadly strike since the agreement was announced.
Details of the agreement to end the Middle East war on all fronts have not been made public, but Iran and mediator Pakistan have both said it includes Lebanon.
An official source told AFP that “Lebanon was not informed of the terms of the agreement or the time of the ceasefire.”
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric, said there had been fewer clashes in Lebanon on Monday.
“We just got an update from our peacekeeping colleagues at UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon), who report that from midnight until 4:00 p.m. local time today, UNIFIL observed a decrease in violence and exchanges of fire, recording 133 trajectories of projectiles and two airstrikes attributed to the Israeli military.
“No trajectories from Hezbollah or other non-state actors were reported during that time,” Dujarric said.
Source: Saudi Gazette