In Lebanon, Israeli Strikes Point to a Precarious Ceasefire

 An Israeli army Merkava main battle tank deploys at a position in northern Israel along the border with southern Lebanon on March 18, 2025. (AFP)
An Israeli army Merkava main battle tank deploys at a position in northern Israel along the border with southern Lebanon on March 18, 2025. (AFP)
TT

In Lebanon, Israeli Strikes Point to a Precarious Ceasefire

 An Israeli army Merkava main battle tank deploys at a position in northern Israel along the border with southern Lebanon on March 18, 2025. (AFP)
An Israeli army Merkava main battle tank deploys at a position in northern Israel along the border with southern Lebanon on March 18, 2025. (AFP)

As Israel resumes heavy strikes in the Gaza Strip, escalating Israeli attacks in south Lebanon have killed five Hezbollah members in the last few days, according to security sources in Lebanon, underlining the fragility of a US-backed ceasefire.

The war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon marked the deadliest spillover of the Gaza war, rumbling across the frontier for months before escalating into a devastating Israeli offensive that wiped out the group's command and many of its fighters, along with much of its arsenal.

While the ceasefire brought about a big reduction in the violence, each side accuses the other of failing to fully implement it. Israel says Hezbollah still has infrastructure in the south, while Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel is occupying Lebanese soil by not withdrawing from five hilltop positions.

The Israeli military has reported striking five Hezbollah members in three separate incidents in south Lebanon since March 15. In one of the incidents on Sunday, the Israeli military said it struck two Hezbollah members "who served as observation operatives and directed terrorist activities". Security sources in Lebanon said five Hezbollah members were killed.

The Israeli military said on Sunday that a gunshot hit a parked car in the Israeli community of Avivim, and that the shot most likely came from Lebanon. No one claimed responsibility.

STRIKES DESTROY PREFAB HOUSES

In Lebanon, Israeli strikes in two towns on Monday destroyed prefabricated houses brought to the area for people whose homes were destroyed in the war, security sources said.

Noting an increase in Israeli strikes in recent days, the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in south Lebanon "urges all actors to avoid any action that could upset the current delicate calm," spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said.

"We continue to urge Israeli forces to fully withdraw south of the Blue Line, and we continue to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in their deployment in the south of Lebanon," he added.

The Blue Line was drawn by the United Nations in 2000, when Israeli forces withdrew from south Lebanon, and separates the country from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The ceasefire agreed in November required Hezbollah to have no weapons in the south and Israeli troops to withdraw as the US-backed Lebanese army deployed into the region.

Israel said earlier this month it had agreed to US-backed talks with Lebanon aimed at demarcating the border. It also released five Lebanese held by the Israeli military in what it called a "gesture to the Lebanese president".

Hezbollah officials have put the onus on the Lebanese state to liberate the remaining land still occupied by Israel. Still, leading Hezbollah official Ali Damoush said on Friday the group would not give up its arms while there was an occupation.

Analysts say Hezbollah would have to think very hard before taking any decision to escalate against Israel, noting that its overland resupply route to Iran was severed by the fall of its ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria and that many of its supporters are homeless because of the devastation caused by the war.

"So far, Hezbollah is keen not to respond and to leave the decision to the government and the Lebanese army," said Qassem Kassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah.



Italian MPs Protest at Egypt's Gaza Border Against War

 Italian and European parliament members hold placards during a protest in front of the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, calling for an end to the war and for aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025. (AFP)
Italian and European parliament members hold placards during a protest in front of the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, calling for an end to the war and for aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025. (AFP)
TT

Italian MPs Protest at Egypt's Gaza Border Against War

 Italian and European parliament members hold placards during a protest in front of the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, calling for an end to the war and for aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025. (AFP)
Italian and European parliament members hold placards during a protest in front of the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, calling for an end to the war and for aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025. (AFP)

Italian parliamentarians protested on Sunday in front of Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza, calling for aid access and an end to the war in the devastated Palestinian territory.

"Europe is not doing enough, nothing to stop the massacre," Cecilia Strada, an Italian member of the European parliament, told AFP.

The group, including 11 members of the Italian parliament, three MEPs and representatives of NGOs, held signs reading "Stop genocide now", "End illegal occupation" and "Stop arming Israel".

"There should be a complete embargo on weapons to and from Israel and a stop to trade with illegal settlements," Strada said.

The protesters laid toys on the ground in solidarity with Gaza's children, who the UN warns face "a growing risk of starvation, illness and death" more than two months into a total Israeli aid blockade.

At least 15,000 children have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, according to the United Nations.

Israel has faced mounting pressure to lift its aid blockade, as UN agencies warn of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines.

It resumed its offensive on March 18, ending a two-month truce in its war against Hamas triggered by the Palestinian group's October 2023 attack on Israel.

On Saturday Israel announced an expanded military campaign, killing dozens of people in new strikes.

"We hear the bombs right now," Walter Massa, president of Italian non-profit organization Associazione Ricreativa Culturale Italiana, told AFP near the crossing.

"The Israeli army continues to do what it believes is right in the face of an international community that does not intervene, and in Gaza, beyond the Rafah crossing border, people continue to die," he said.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said Saturday said he was "alarmed" at the escalation and called for "a permanent ceasefire, now".

Italy's government on Saturday reiterated its calls to Israel to stop attacking Gaza, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying: "Enough with the attacks."

"We no longer want to see the Palestinian people suffer," Tajani said.

Gaza's health ministry said Sunday 3,193 people have been killed since Israel resumed its strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,339.