This story originally appeared in the JC Israel Briefing. You can sign up to receive the briefing daily here.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned yesterday that Hezbollah is undermining the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
“It must be understood that Hezbollah’s violations are, in practice, dismantling the ceasefire,” Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting.
The ceasefire, which was extended last week, includes provisions allowing Israel to act against threats posed by the Iran-backed group. Netanyahu stressed that Israel would continue to respond forcefully under those terms.
“We are acting vigorously in accordance with arrangements agreed with the United States and, incidentally, also with Lebanon,” he said.
Israel continues to target military infrastructure and facilities in southern Lebanon despite the ceasefire, with targeted killings continuing amid the truce.
“This means freedom of action not only to respond to attacks, which is obvious, but also to preempt immediate threats and even emerging threats,” Netanyahu explained.
Yesterday, the IDF said it had struck “rocket-launching terrorist cells and weapons storage facilities” belonging to the group, which it said was “preparing to carry out rocket attacks toward IDF soldiers and the State of Israel”.
This weekend, US President Trump announced a three-week extension to the fragile ceasefire, though sirens were sounded in northern Israel this morning, and gatherings have been limited in number once more by the Home Front Command as the threat continues.
Yesterday, the IDF announced that 19-year-old Idan Fox was killed in a drone attack, making him the 16th soldier to be killed since fighting broke out amid the Iran War in March.
Since October 7, 941 soldiers have died in total.
This story originally appeared in the JC Israel Briefing. You can sign up to receive the briefing daily here.
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