Hezbollah on Monday said it reserved the right to self-defense after several Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon despite a truce between the two sides and a US-Israel-Lebanon framework to end hostilities.
In a statement, the group said that it "reiterates that what the enemy has done is a blatant violation of the ceasefire to which it has adhered until now, and that it is monitoring and tracking these violations, and reserves its right to defend its homeland and its people.”
A joint statement by the Israeli prime minister and defense minister on Sunday said the Israeli military has destroyed underground infrastructure used by Hezbollah in a village in southern Lebanon.
The US was informed ahead of the attack, which targeted a 200-meter (656-ft)-long tunnel in the town of Majdal Zoun, according to the statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The framework agreement provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal from some parts of southern Lebanon alongside the deployment of the Lebanese army, although Israeli forces would be permitted to remain in an expanded security zone for the time being.
The Israeli statement said the tunnel contained hundreds of weapons and launchers. The attack comes hours after the Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and hit a rocket launcher in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has rejected the security agreement, describing it as a surrender to Israel. He said the group would continue its armed resistance.
Netanyahu said in his statement late on Sunday that the Israeli military would remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon and will "continue to destroy terrorist infrastructure, remove threats from the northern communities, and safeguard the security of Israel's citizens."
