Israeli forces have killed some two dozen Hezbollah terrorists since the start of the Nov. 27 Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday.
The Israeli Air Force has also struck dozens of Hezbollah positions during the same period, the military stated.
Under the terms of the truce, Israeli forces are to withdraw from Lebanon by late January, while Lebanon’s army enters those areas vacated by the IDF. Hezbollah has violated the ceasefire repeatedly since the day it took effect, according to the IDF.
The IDF said on Sunday that forces of its 7th Armored Brigade, working under the command of the 98th Division, discovered weapons warehouses hidden in civilian areas of Southern Lebanon.
In one operation, troops found “hundreds” of anti-tank rockets, mortar grenades and a car with a rocket launcher mounted on top, the military said, adding that the forces also “located and destroyed” several tunnel shafts that led to underground Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure.
On Sunday morning, Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen news outlet, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that two people were killed in an Israel drone strike on a structure in Southern Lebanon.
On Saturday night, the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese daily Al Akhbar claimed that four people had been killed and six others wounded by an Israeli strike in Beit Lif in the country’s south.
In addition, the IDF has attacked Hezbollah convoys fleeing Syria for Lebanon following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s rule.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Sky News Arabia on Dec. 2 that Jerusalem remains committed to the terms of the ceasefire.
“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.”
There have been few gunfights involving Israeli ground forces since the ceasefire took effect, though Hezbollah launched two mortar shells across the border on the sixth day of the truce.
IAF fighter jets struck launch pads in response.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed after the mortar attacks to continue to “respond to any violation by Hezbollah—minor or serious.”
