Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel

Tel Aviv maintains Lebanese buffer zone

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM:

Hezbollah said it fired rockets and drones into northern Israel on Tuesday, accusing the Israeli military of violating a ceasefire ahead of US-mediated talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments this week.

The Israeli military earlier said Iran-aligned group had fired several rockets toward its troops operating in southern Lebanon, in what it described as a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire agreement. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were the same.

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah mediated by Washington came into effect last Thursday, but Israeli forces remain deployed in a belt of Lebanese land 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 miles) deep along the entire border. Israel has said it aims to create a buffer zone to shield northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim group.

Hezbollah, in its statement on Tuesday, accused Israel of attacking civilians and destroying homes in breach of the truce. It said it fired at a position in northern Israel that had been striking southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military said it struck the launcher from which the rockets were fired, and that sirens in northern Israel were likely sounded after the interception of a drone launched from Lebanon.

The Israeli military did not respond to a question on whether Hezbollah's announced attack was the same as the one the Israeli military had announced earlier.

On Thursday, the US will host a second round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon, which was dragged into war on March 2 when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran in the regional conflict.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Lebanon's most senior Shia statesman and a Hezbollah ally, earlier told Lebanese newspaper al-Joumhouria that Israeli forces occupying parts of the south would face resistance.

If Israel "maintains its occupation, whether of areas, positions, or by drawing yellow lines, it will smell the scent of resistance every day," said Berri, leader of the Shi'ite Amal Movement.

The Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both referred to Israel's deployment line in Lebanon as the "Yellow Line" last week - the same term used by Israel for its deployment line in Gaza.

Israeli officials have since refrained from describing it in those terms, instead calling it a "forward defense line" that was marked in red in a military map published on Sunday that included a "naval forward defense area" extending from Lebanon's coast into the sea.

The Israeli military has been carrying out demolitions in southern villages since the ceasefire, saying it is acting against Hezbollah infrastructure embedded in civilian areas. Lebanese state media on Tuesday reported new Israeli detonations in at least eight villages and Israeli artillery shelling in several areas.

Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation, during which Hezbollah, Amal and other groups waged attacks against Israeli forces.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed nearly 2,300 since March 2, Lebanese authorities say.

Berri, in his comments to al-Joumhouria, reiterated his view that there was no need for direct talks with Israel, noting he had been a party to several rounds of indirect negotiations with Israel over the years.

Aoun has listed Israeli withdrawal among Lebanon's goals in face-to-face talks with Israel.

His administration has sought Hezbollah's peaceful disarmament for a year. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Tuesday his government did not seek confrontation with Hezbollah but would not be intimidated by it.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday the ultimate goal of the campaign against Hezbollah was to see the group disarmed, by both military and diplomatic means.

"If the Lebanese government continues not to keep its commitment (to disarm Hezbollah), the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will do so by continuing its military activity," Katz said in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu struck a softer tone last Friday, saying that disarming Hezbollah "will not be achieved tomorrow. It requires sustained effort, patience, and endurance, and it requires wise navigation of the diplomatic field."