Lebanon’s army said Friday that the Israeli military had escorted Israeli civilians onto Lebanese territory to visit a Jewish shrine near the village of Houla without permission from Lebanese authorities.
The move was in violation of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement in late November that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after a deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon, and the two sides became locked in an escalating conflict that became a full-blown war in late September.
The army statement said the incident “represents a blatant violation of Lebanese national sovereignty” and of the ceasefire agreement under which Israel was supposed to withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory last month.
The Israeli military withdrew from border villages, but stayed in five strategic overlook locations inside Lebanon. Lebanese leaders have denounced the continued presence of the Israeli troops as an occupation and a violation of the deal.
