Israel carried out several strikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday afternoon, after issuing eviction orders for five villages and warning of attacks across the region.
The Israeli army said it was attacking infrastructure being used by Hezbollah to rebuild. It ordered residents to stay at least 500 metres away from designated buildings in the villages of Taybeh, Tayr Debba, Zawtar Al Sharqiya, Aita Al Jabal and Kafr Dunin.
The warnings, issued by Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Avichay Adraee, were a grim reminder of the constant eviction orders issued last year during the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The attacks began just after 4pm local time, coinciding with intense drone activity over Beirut and the start of Lebanese army commander Gen Rodolphe Haykal's monthly briefing to the Cabinet on the army's progress on disarming Hezbollah.
There were no immediate reports of any deaths, but one was injured in Tayr Debba. Earlier in the day, Israeli air strikes on a village near Taybeh killed one person and injured eight.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun slammed Israel’s actions as a “crime not only according to the provisions of international humanitarian law ... but it is also a heinous political crime".
"Every time Lebanon expresses its openness to a peaceful negotiation approach to resolve the outstanding issues with Israel, it intensifies its aggression," he said.
“Nearly a year has passed since the ceasefire entered into effect, and during that period, Israel has spared no effort to demonstrate its rejection of any negotiated settlement between the two countries… Your message has been received”.
Earlier in the day Hezbollah in a lengthy statement had underlined its "legitimate right to defend ourselves against an enemy that imposes war on our country and does not cease its attacks".
Earlier, Hezbollah had warned Lebanon's leaders against entering into negotiations with Israel “under any circumstances”, saying that to do so “poses existential risks” to the country.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has recently called for indirect negotiations with Israel to resolve a host of issues, including the withdrawal of troops from Lebanese territory and an end to its attacks on the country.
Israel has kept its troops inside Lebanese territory near the southern border and has carried out daily attacks on southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement in November last year that ended more than a year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
While Israeli attacks have targeted inactive Hezbollah fighters, they have also killed civilians.
Negotiations “would only bring further gains to the 'Israeli' enemy, which always takes and never honours its obligations, giving nothing in return”, Hezbollah said in an open letter to Mr Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. “With this ferocious enemy, supported by American tyranny, no manoeuvre or pretence can succeed,” the letter added.
Lebanon's focus should be on insisting that Israel end its hostilities and abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement and should not “submit to extortion or to enter political negotiations with the Zionist entity under any circumstances”, Hezbollah said.
“Such a course serves no national interest and poses existential risks that threaten Lebanon’s very sovereignty and survival.”
Hezbollah once again criticised the government's “hasty decision” to disarm the group despite Israel's aggression and warned such a decision “can ever be accepted or imposed”.
It repeated its stance that a conversation over its weapons “can’t be discussed in response to foreign pressure or 'Israeli' blackmail”.
Israel warned on Sunday that it would intensify its attacks against Hezbollah, with Defence Minister Israel Katz claiming that the group was “playing with fire, and the President of Lebanon is dragging his feet”.
Mr Aoun said last week that Israel was responding to his offer to negotiate by intensifying its air strikes.
The Lebanese army is expected to finish dismantling Hezbollah's infrastructure south of the Litani River by the end of the year. The ceasefire deal states that Hezbollah should withdraw to north of the Litani River and that Israeli troops should leave Lebanese territory.
