Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was squeamish today in addressing the supposed ‘Israel-Lebanon’ ceasefire agreement announced yesterday by the U.S. State Department. First, his defensiveness showed in relating how tough they were. He said the head of the Lebanese delegation, Simon Karam, had suspended participation at one point due to Israeli intransigence, prompting Secretary of State Marco Rubio to intervene and revive the talks. Then he reflected the threat situation he was under by calling the resulting agreement “a last opportunity.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz today said out loud what was obvious from the State Department’s ‘joint statement.’ He explained that the ceasefire with Lebanon grants the Israeli military the “freedom” to strike Beirut in response to any Hezbollah fire on Israeli communities, that Israeli forces would continue their military operations within Lebanon, remaining in the security zone up to the “Yellow Line,” and make a priority to “dismantle” Hezbollah’s infrastructure.
Then Israel’s military today issued an order to residents of southern Lebanon, demanding that they not return to areas south of the Zahrani River, and stating that “anyone who travels south would be putting their life at risk.” While it has been standard operating procedure for the Netanyahu regime to unilaterally change every deal they make, it still should be noted that this is yet another land grab. The Zahrani is another 10 km north of the Litani River, the former northern border seized by Israel. Netanyahu has already moved the goalposts in Gaza from the agreed-upon maximum occupation of 53% to 60%, and now has announced the next goal, 70%.
Today’s “ceasefire agreement” produced at least nine more killings in three separate incidents in Lebanon, still below the level of killings today in Gaza. The Lebanese Health Ministry reported over 3,500 killings over the last three months.
