Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-language spokesman for the Israeli military, said on Thursday that Israeli forces “struck more than 100 Hezbollah targets across various areas of Lebanon, including the Bekaa Valley and Nabatieh.”
“Hezbollah violated the cease-fire in an attempt to prevent our forces from completing the destruction of capabilities it had built over many years, and we responded with force,” Adraee said.
The Iran-backed terrorists of Hezbollah insisted they had not “violated the cease-fire,” instead accusing Israel of “intensifying their cease-fire violations, committing massacres, and continuing to try to infiltrate areas and villages they were unable to reach before.”
Later on Thursday evening, Hezbollah admitted attacking Israeli units as they were advancing on a hill south of Nabatieh. The Israeli military said four of its soldiers were killed in the attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israeli forces will “remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect communities in the north.”
“Israel will not tolerate any attack against our soldiers or our territory,” he vowed.
Iran said it would not move forward with the ceasefire process until it receives “guarantees on the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, in line with what is provided for in the signed agreement.” Iran pulled out of a planned meeting in Switzerland on Friday, citing Israel’s strikes in Lebanon as the reason.
On Friday, Netanyahu gave his “heartfelt condolences” to the families of the four Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah. “May their blood be avenged,” he said.
“Following the heinous attack by Hezbollah, which was a blatant violation of the ceasefire, I instructed the IDF last night to strike Hezbollah with full force,” he said.
“My directive is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks,” he declared.
“As I made unequivocally clear, including yesterday: Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as required to protect the settlements in the north,” he added.
Netanyahu said more than 80 Hezbollah targets were struck, a number Adraee’s statement increased to 100. Later on Friday, Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “struck powerfully 150 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and eliminated dozens of terrorists.”
The Lebanese health ministry said on Friday that Israeli strikes killed at least 47 and wounded 97. These figures did not distinguish between collateral civilian casualties and slain Hezbollah fighters, although the health ministry said that least seven women and two children were numbered among the dead.
Israel and Hezbollah announced a new ceasefire on Friday that went into effect at 4:00 pm local time (9:00 am Eastern time.) An unnamed diplomat from the Gulf states told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the ceasefire was “mediated by Qatar, the U.S., and Iran.”
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