BEIRUT: An Israeli strike in the south killed a Lebanese civilian on Wednesday amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
One resident was killed and another wounded when an Israeli drone launched a raid on a house in the town of Ainata in the Bint Jbeil district, said the ministry.
An Israeli drone targeted a bus in the town of Beit Lif, and initial information indicated that there were injuries among its passengers.
Israel’s violations of the ceasefire continued as UN peacekeepers entered the town of Khiam on Wednesday to “inspect the road and verify the Israeli army’s withdrawal.”
The UNIFIL contingent was assessing the adherence of Israeli forces to their commitment to withdraw from the northern and southern neighborhoods of the city.
The move is in preparation for the deployment of the Lebanese Army and the Engineering Regiment to the northern district, where they will conduct an initial clearance of munitions as part of the first phase of their operation in the area.
The Lebanese army is redeploying to some of its previous forward positions south of the Litani River under the ceasefire agreement reached on Nov. 26 between Israel and Hezbollah.
The ceasefire came into effect on Nov. 27 and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army will deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdraws over 60 days. The Israeli army is expected to withdraw from the frontline areas and the second line of villages it penetrated during the ground operation that started on Oct. 1.
The Lebanese army’s bulldozers awaited orders on Wednesday to enter neighborhoods in Khiam to clear roads and assess the remnants of missiles, shells and unexploded ordnance, ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli forces before the deployment of additional army units assigned to the task.
The Israeli forces remained in these villages, where they demolished homes and facilities to render the area uninhabitable.
A military source anticipated that bulldozers and engineering equipment would require time to clear the debris in areas that experienced devastating explosions.
The Israeli military continued its operations on Wednesday morning, demolishing the remaining houses in Khiam and destroying residences in Kfar Kila up to the very last moment.
During this time, Israeli forces in the border area continued their violations.
A contingent of about 15 Israeli personnel raided a residence belonging to the Al-Jouki family in the town of Burj Al-Muluk, conducting a search of the premises.
They interrogated two people in the house and seized their mobile phones.
The forces instructed them to vacate the residence immediately and not to return until further notice.
Israeli army spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, reiterated a reminder to the residents of Lebanon on his social media account about the prohibition of movement south of the following villages and their surroundings: Shebaa, Habbariyeh, Marjayoun, Arnoun, Yahrun, Al-Qantara, Shaqra, Barashit, Yater and Al-Mansouri, until further notice.
This restricted area covers about 60 towns and villages.
The Israeli army prevented residents who did not leave these areas from moving around, and any movements drew gunfire.
In Chamaa, civil defense personnel — working in coordination with the Lebanese army and UNIFIL forces — retrieved the remains of Hezbollah members from under the rubble.
The town witnessed confrontations between the Israeli army and Hezbollah that lasted for days before the ceasefire.
The Civil Defense has been trying to enter the border areas since the ceasefire took effect.
The bodies of Hezbollah members remain unrecovered at the locations where they died.
According to Hezbollah’s estimates, the number of bodies is believed to be in the hundreds.
Samir Geagea, head of the Christian Lebanese Forces party, questioned Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi on Wednesday about the lawlessness at the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria.
The crossing is the only one open for transit traffic in both directions.
“Is it true that some General Security officers are cooperating with a security group from the remnants of Hezbollah to facilitate the crossing of the Assad regime’s supporters into Lebanon?” Geagea asked.
“If this is not true, we demand that it be officially and explicitly announced, with facts proving that the Lebanese state is controlling its borders. However, if it is true, it is unacceptable.
“The lawlessness the Lebanese people have endured due to de facto policies and the complicity or failure of specific official departments must end.
“Punitive measures are needed against anyone who breaches their duties and responsibilities,” Geagea said.
The head of the Change Movement, Elie Mahfoud, and former Lebanese Forces MP, Eddy Abi Lamaa, filed a complaint with the Lebanese judiciary against Assad and his regime’s officials for the “crime of kidnapping Lebanese nationals and playing a role in their disappearance.”
Mahfoud said in front of Beirut’s Palace of Justice: “We presented documented information in the complaint and testimonies of freed prisoners.
“The main demand is issuing an arrest warrant in absentia against Assad and his accomplices. If this does not happen, we will take other steps,” Mahfoud said.
Besides Assad, Abi Lamaa said that the complaint included the Syrian state, National Security Adviser Ali Mamlouk, and interior and defense ministers.
Also on Wednesday, Interior Minister Mawlawi said that 4,883 Syrians had left from Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut since last Sunday after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.
Mawlawi said that no security personnel affiliated with the regime had crossed into Lebanon.
He said that only people with legal residency in Lebanon or those holding foreign passports or residency permits could enter the country.
The minister also said that nine former Lebanese detainees held in Syrian prisons had returned so far.
The Committee of the Families of Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon has compiled a list of more than 600 people who were arrested either in Lebanon or at the shared border and subsequently taken to Syrian prisons. Some of those names date back to the 1980s.
Syrian authorities have been denying the detention of such people in Syrian prisons for the past two decades.