Israel Defense Forces killed several terrorists in Southern Lebanon on Monday after they violated the ceasefire understandings and approached soldiers, “posing an imminent threat to them,” the military said.
The IDF said its 98th and 36th divisions were continuing operations south of the ceasefire-instituted forward defense line to prevent “an imminent threat” to northern Israeli communities posed by Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
In one incident, the Paratrooper Brigade identified a group of terrorists approaching them after breaching the truce line in the Bint Jbeil area. The military said the individuals posed an immediate danger.
“Following the identification, the Israeli Air Force, acting on the direction of the ground soldiers, subsequently struck and eliminated the terrorists in order to remove the threat,” it stated.
In another incident, the IDF’s Golani Brigade ordered an airstrike on additional terrorist operatives in the Litani River area, the military said, saying they violated the ceasefire and threatened the troops.
“The IDF will continue to operate to clear the area under its control and to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel and its forces,” the statement concluded.
Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones at Israel on March 2, in retaliation for the Jewish state’s targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Khamenei was eliminated in the opening strikes of “Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury” against the Islamic regime on Feb. 28.
In response to the terrorist organization’s violation of the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, truce agreement, Jerusalem launched an aerial campaign against Hezbollah and ordered IDF troops to advance and take control of additional areas in Southern Lebanon to halt cross-border attacks.
Jerusalem and Beirut on April 16 agreed to a 10-day ceasefire following mediation by U.S. President Donald Trump.
A week prior, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Lebanese government had requested direct negotiations with the Jewish state aimed at disarming Hezbollah, and a first round of talks between Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and his Lebanese counterpart was held in Washington, D.C., on April 14.
A U.S. State Department official told CBS News on Monday that a second round of negotiations was expected to take place on Thursday.
“The United States welcomes the productive engagement that began on April 14. We will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments,” the official said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday named former Ambassador to the United States Simon Karam as Beirut’s envoy for the peace talks with the Jewish state. Karam, a Maronite Christian and critic of Hezbollah, previously headed the Lebanese team in talks regarding the implementation of the 2024 ceasefire.
