Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called on Israel to stop military strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday after the Israel Defense Forces struck Hezbollah military infrastructure in the village of Ansar overnight, an operation the IDF said was a response to aggressive actions by Hezbollah forces toward IDF soldiers on the Ali al-Taher Ridge.
Lebanese president and prime minister call for halt to Israeli strikes after IDF hits Hezbollah site in Ansar
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called on Israel to stop military strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday after the Israel Defense Forces struck Hezbollah military infrastructure in the village of Ansar overnight, an operation the IDF said was a response to aggressive actions by Hezbollah forces toward IDF soldiers on the Ali al-Taher Ridge.
According to Lebanese state media, the strikes in Ansar killed seven people, reportedly including three women and two children. The IDF described the operation in a statement as retaliatory.
Aoun, posting on his office's X account, condemned what he called 'ongoing Israeli attacks' in southern Lebanon and characterized them as a 'violation of the Framework Agreement.'
Salam, also posting on X, called on Israel to 'halt its military escalation,' arguing that responsibility for addressing any military structures on Lebanese territory 'lies exclusively with the Lebanese state, through the Lebanese army and its legitimate institutions,' and that their presence 'does not grant Israel the right to violate Lebanese territory or endanger civilians.'
Hezbollah issued a statement on Telegram saying the IDF strikes 'would be met accordingly' and attributed the escalation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's domestic political interests and what it described as his 'desire and intention to escalate the war.' Hezbollah called on Israel to understand that 'its attacks, violations, and attempts to impose a new reality cannot continue.'
The strikes occurred against the backdrop of a trilateral framework agreement signed in June by Israel, Lebanon, and the United States. Negotiations have remained unsettled since then, with the IDF maintaining a presence in southern Lebanon while Hezbollah has declined to disarm, according to the report.
- The source does not state the nature of the 'aggressive actions by Hezbollah forces' that the IDF cited as the trigger for the strikes.
- The source does not provide independent verification of the casualty figures reported by Lebanese state media.
- The source does not state the identities of the seven people Lebanese state media reported killed.
- The source does not detail the specific terms of the trilateral framework agreement signed in June or which provisions Aoun alleged Israel violated.
- The source does not include a response from the Israeli government to the statements by Aoun or Salam.
- The source does not state the current status of IDF troop positioning in southern Lebanon beyond noting that the IDF continues to maintain a presence there.
Read the original at The Jerusalem Post