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Lebanon Parliament Speaker Accuses Israel of 'Flagrant Violation' of Truce

Border fence between Lebanon and Israel (AFP)
Border fence between Lebanon and Israel (AFP)
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Lebanon Parliament Speaker Accuses Israel of 'Flagrant Violation' of Truce

Border fence between Lebanon and Israel (AFP)
Border fence between Lebanon and Israel (AFP)

Lebanon's parliament speaker accused Israel of violating a ceasefire, after authorities said two were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, the sixth day of the truce.

"The aggressive actions carried out by Israeli occupation forces... represent a flagrant violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement," Nabih Berri, who helped mediate the ceasefire on behalf of ally Hezbollah, said in a statement.

Also, France's foreign minister Monday told his Israeli counterpart that all sides should respect a ceasefire started last week between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the French foreign ministry said.

Jean-Noel Barrot stressed to Israeli minister Gideon Saar in a phone call "the need for all sides to respect the ceasefire in Lebanon", the ministry said, after several Israeli strikes hit Lebanon since the ceasefire started Wednesday.

At least two people were killed on Monday in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, Lebanese authorities said, as a ceasefire ending more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah appeared increasingly fragile.

The truce, which came into effect early on Nov. 27, stipulates that Israel will not carry out offensive military operations against civilian, military or other state targets in Lebanon, while Lebanon will prevent any armed groups, including Hezbollah, from carrying out operations against Israel.

Lebanon and Israel have already traded accusations of breaches, and on Monday Lebanon said the violations had turned deadly.

One person was killed in an Israeli air attack on the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun, about 10 km (six miles) from the border with Israel, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Lebanon's state security said an Israeli drone strike had killed a member of its force while he was on duty in Nabatieh, 12 km from the border. State security called it a "flagrant violation" of the truce.

The Lebanese army said an Israeli drone hit an army bulldozer in northeast Lebanon near the border with Syria, wounding one soldier.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the incidents in Marjayoun and Nabatieh. It issued a statement saying it had attacked military vehicles operating near Hezbollah military infrastructure in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and military vehicles near the border with Syria.

The Israeli military acknowledged that a Lebanese soldier was wounded in one of its attacks and said the incident was under review.

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Syrian Opposition Leader Says Lebanon Truce Opened Door to Aleppo Assault

An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Syrian Opposition Leader Says Lebanon Truce Opened Door to Aleppo Assault

An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)

Syrian opposition fighters began preparations to seize Aleppo a year ago, but the operation was delayed by war in Gaza and ultimately launched last week when a ceasefire took hold in Lebanon, the head of Syria's main opposition abroad told Reuters.

The factions were able to seize the city and parts of neighboring Idlib province so quickly in part because Hezbollah and other Iran-backed fighters were distracted by their conflict with Israel, Hadi al-Bahra said in an interview on Monday.

The Turkish military, which is allied with some of the opposition and has bases across its southern border in Syria, had heard of the armed groups' plans but made clear it would play no direct role, he added.

The assault in northwestern Syria was launched last Wednesday, the day that Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah began a truce ending more than a year of fighting.

"A year ago they started really training and mobilizing and taking it more seriously," said Bahra, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, the internationally-recognized Syrian opposition.

"But the war on Gaza ... then the war in Lebanon delayed it. They felt it wouldn't look good having the war in Lebanon at the same time they were fighting in Syria," he said in his Istanbul office, in the first public comments on the fighters’ preparations by an opposition figure.

"So the moment there was a ceasefire in Lebanon, they found that opportunity ... to start."

The opposition operation is the boldest advance and biggest challenge to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.

Syrian and allied Russian forces have launched counter attacks, which Bahra said are "destabilizing" Aleppo and Idlib and pose the biggest risk to civilians, given the earlier opposition advances had sought carefully to avoid such casualties.

IRAN, RUSSIA

The opposition retaking of Aleppo also paves the way for hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced elsewhere in the country and in Türkiye to return home, Bahra said.

"Due to the Lebanese war and decrease in Hezbollah forces, (Assad's) regime has less support," he said, adding Iranian militias also have less resources while Russia is giving less air cover due to its "Ukraine problem".

Damascus, which is also backed by Iran, did not immediately comment on whether the opposition sought to avoid casualties and whether it risks destabilizing the region with air raids. Assad has vowed to crush the fighters and has launched air raids.

Iran-backed Hezbollah did not immediately comment on whether its war with Israel opened the door to Syrian opposition advances in Aleppo, where it also has personnel.

Tehran has pledged to aid the Syrian government and on Monday hundreds of fighters from Iran-backed Iraqi militias crossed into Syria to help fight the factions, Syrian and Iraqi sources said.

A Turkish defense ministry official said last week that Ankara was closely monitoring the mobilization and taking precautions for its troops.

The opposition fighters are a coalition of Türkiye-backed mainstream secular armed groups spearheaded by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that has been designated a terrorist outfit by Türkiye, the US, Russia and other states.

Bahra's coalition, which does not include HTS, represents anti-Assad groups including the Türkiye-backed Syrian National Army or Free Syrian Army, which took territory north of Idlib over the last week.

It holds regular diplomatic talks with the United Nations and several states.