Smoke rises after Israel attacks targets in southern Lebanon. (Photo: Kawnat Haju/AFP)
Pres. Joseph Aoun of Lebanon said on Monday that he would do the “impossible” to end the war with Israel after a ceasefire and direct talks between the two countries still failed to bring an end to fighting.
Aoun’s comments followed a wave of Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah declared that it had hit a military target in northern Israel.
Since the cease-fire on April 17, Israel has carried out several attacks in southern Lebanon against targets that the country labels as belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group.
Hezbollah also continued its attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
“The framework that Lebanon has set for the negotiations consists of an Israeli withdrawal, a ceasefire, the deployment of the army at the border, the return of displaced persons and economic aid,” Aoun said in a statement on Monday.
“My duty, based on my position and responsibility, is to do the impossible and choose what costs the least – so that we can stop the war against Lebanon and its people.”
The ceasefire was extended by another 45 days last week after a third round of talks between representatives of Lebanon and Israel in Washington. Hezbollah is opposed to these talks.
However, the ceasefire has so far not been able to bring an end to the violence and Hezbollah declared on Monday that it had fired a drone at a military target in the north of Israel. The target was an “Iron Dome platform of the Israeli army” in a military area in the north of Israel. Iron Dome is Israel’s air defense system.
According to Hezbollah, the attack was carried out in response to Israel’s “violations” of the ceasefire.
The state-run Lebanese National News Agency reported on several Israeli attacks in the south. The Israeli army also issued a warning ahead of time that three Lebanese towns would be targeted and that civilians should leave them.
The attacks come a day after seven people were killed in an Israeli attack in Lebanon. This includes a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the north-east of the country.