Israel threatens attacks on Lebanese state targets if cease-fire collapses

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Tuesday to attack Lebanese state targets if a cease-fire deal with Lebanon collapses.

"There will no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon," Katz said during a visit to the border area with Lebanon.

On Tuesday, at least 10 people were killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon despite a cease-fire deal between Tel Aviv and Beirut.Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed that the army attacks targeted Hezbollah members and targets in southern Lebanon.

On Monday evening, Hezbollah said it fired rockets at the Israeli site of Ruwaisat Al-Alam in the Kfar Shuba hills, calling it a “preliminary defensive warning” against Israel's continued violations of the cease-fire agreement.“We will work with all our might to enforce all the understandings of the cease-fire agreement, and we show maximum response and zero tolerance,” Katz said.“We reacted strongly and this is exactly what we will do, and we will not allow Hezbollah to return to the old methods they had,” he added.

There was no immediate comment from the Lebanese government on the Israeli threat.

The cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel took effect last week in the hope of ending over 14 months of fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.

Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel is to withdraw its forces south of the Blue Line de facto border in a phased manner while the Lebanese army deploys its forces in southern Lebanon within a maximum of 60 days.

Implementation of the agreement is to be overseen by the US and France, but details on enforcement mechanisms remain unclear.

Nearly 4,000 people have been killed and more than 16,500 injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon and over 1 million displaced since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities.