Could Israel preserve Lebanon ceasefire while retaliating against Hezbollah?
While retaliating against what it considers violations by Hezbollah, Israel insists the ceasefire accord with Lebanon is still on.
TEL AVIV — Israel is walking a fine line of retaliating against what it considers Hezbollah’s violation of the Nov. 26 ceasefire, while insisting the accord is still on.
On Monday, Hezbollah fired two mortar shells at the Israeli-held Har Dov border enclave. Israel responded with a wave of aerial bombardments on the organization’s targets in Lebanon, saying it had killed 10 Hezbollah militants and destroyed 20 rocket launchers, a response meant to signal that it would retaliate forcefully for any violation of the US- and French-mediated deal but was committed to abiding by it.
Warnings to Hezbollah
In deliberating how to respond to Hezbollah’s Monday mortar attack, Israel decided it should be powerful enough to make clear its determination to respond to every ceasefire violation, but not to the point of the resumption of fighting. "If we have no choice, next time we will respond more forcefully," a senior Israeli military source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.
