Israel Strikes Lebanon, Accuses Hezbollah of Cease-Fire Violation
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- Israeli military launched strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, accusing Hezbollah of a cease-fire violation; the military said it could not provide further details at the time
- Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokeswoman, ordered residents of Al-Mansouri to evacuate at least 1,000 meters away from Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure
- Israeli and Lebanese negotiators met in Rome for a second straight day of talks aimed at a long-term diplomatic settlement, running in parallel to the strikes
- Both Israel and Hezbollah have accused each other of violating the cease-fire for weeks since a June US-Iran agreement called for an end to military operations in Lebanon
- The late-June framework agreement conditions Israeli withdrawal on the Lebanese Armed Forces restoring sovereign authority and disarming nonstate armed groups — a task many experts say the LAF lacks resources to enforce
- Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem rejected the framework deal in a July 8 speech, declaring that "no clause of this agreement will come to pass"
- Lebanese government officials are wary of pressing Hezbollah to disarm by force, fearing it could spark a civil war
Why it matters: Strikes conducted on the same day as negotiations in Rome expose the dual-track reality of the arrangement: the framework's linchpin — Lebanese Armed Forces disarmament of Hezbollah — is publicly rejected by Hezbollah's leader and considered unenforceable by outside experts, meaning even a signed deal leaves the underlying cease-fire fragile.
