Israel and Hezbollah trade fire, threatening Lebanon ceasefire

Hezbollah fired into an Israel-held area after multiple Israeli strikes in Lebanon since truce began

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Israeli troops move between destroyed houses, in the south Lebanon village of Meiss El-Jabal, as they leave Lebanon on their way back into Israel. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:40am, 3 Dec 2024Updated: 2:07pm, 3 Dec 2024

Israel unleashed its largest wave of air strikes across Lebanon since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last week, killing at least 11 people on Monday after the Lebanese militant group fired a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were Israeli truce violations.

The projectiles were apparently the first time that Hezbollah took aim at Israeli forces after the 60-day ceasefire went into effect last Wednesday. The increasingly fragile truce aimed to end more than a year of war between Hezbollah and Israel – part of a wider regional conflict sparked by the devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump demanded the immediate release of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant Hamas group in Gaza, saying on social media that if they are not freed before he takes office in January there would be “HELL TO PAY”.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was threatening to directly involve the US military in Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. The US has given Israel crucial military and diplomatic support throughout the nearly 15-month conflict.

Smoke above the Lebanese village of Khiam during Israeli bombardment on Monday. Photo: AFP

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli air strike on the southern village of Haris killed five people and wounded two while another air strike on the village of Tallousa killed four and also wounded two.