IAF hits Hezbollah after terror group fires mortars at Mount Dov

The Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah terrorist assets across Lebanon on Monday night in response to the Iranian proxy’s firing of two mortar shells across the border hours earlier in violation of the Nov. 27 ceasefire.

Among the targets of the strikes was the launcher used in the Har Dov attacks, in the area of Berghoz in Southern Lebanon. Dozens of other launchers were also hit, along with Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

“Hezbollah’s launches tonight constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. The State of Israel demands that the relevant parties in Lebanon fulfill their responsibilities and prevent Hezbollah’s hostile activity from within Lebanese territory. The State of Israel remains obligated to the fulfillment of the conditions of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon,” the IDF said.

“The IDF is prepared to continue operating wherever necessary and will continue to operate to defend Israeli civilians,” the statement concluded.

The Iranian-backed terrorist organization took responsibility for the Mount Dov attack, claiming it had fired at an Israeli military outpost “as a warning.” The mortar shells impacted in open territory, causing no injuries or damage.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated following the attack that, “We promised to respond to any violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah—and that is exactly what we will do. Hezbollah’s firing at the IDF post on Mount Dov will be met with a harsh response.”

“What was will no longer be,” he added.

Also on Monday night, a drone “launched from the east” was intercepted by an Israeli Navy missile ship in the Red Sea area before crossing into Israeli territory, the military said, publishing a video of the interception.

Earlier on Monday, the IDF said that it had operated in the morning and on Sunday in response to threats posed by Hezbollah in violation of the truce, which went into effect on the morning of Nov. 27.

The listed violations included several military vehicles operating in the area of a Hezbollah missile manufacturing site in the Beqaa Valley, that were struck, as were several sites next to the Syria-Lebanon border in the Hermel area that the IDF said were used to smuggle weapons.

“These posed a threat to the State of Israel and were a violation of the ceasefire understandings,” the IDF statement noted, adding that “the IDF is operating against any threat against the State of Israel.”

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Sky News Arabia on Monday that Jerusalem remains committed to the ceasefire terms.

“UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese government must fulfill their roles—this is also in their interest. We need this period to ensure there are no terror bases there,” he said, emphasizing that the Lebanese people and government must ensure that “Beirut and Southern Lebanon are free of weapons—not in homes, not in yards and not in children’s rooms.”

Under the terms of the truce, Israeli forces are to withdraw from Lebanon over a period of 60 days, while Lebanon’s official army enters those areas vacated by the IDF. Hezbollah violated the terms of the ceasefire the day it took effect, according to the Israeli military.

The governments of France and the United States, which are members of the monitoring mechanism overseeing the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement, have also claimed violations by Jerusalem, primarily the use of IDF surveillance drones over Beirut.

According to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, he told his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot on Monday that “Israel is not violating the ceasefire understandings but is instead enforcing them in response to Hezbollah’s violations.”

In a statement, the diplomat reiterated Jerusalem’s commitment to implementing the agreement and made it clear that Israel “will not return to the reality of October 6, 2023,” the day before the Hamas-led massacre in the northwestern Negev that triggered the war.