Israeli warplanes struck targets in southern Lebanon on Monday, hours after Hezbollah condemned a newly proposed ceasefire agreement, escalating the worst cross-border violence since the 2006 war. The strikes hit areas near the border towns of Kfar Kila and Aita al-Shaab, according to Lebanese state media, with no immediate casualty reports. The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah rocket launchers and observation posts in response to earlier attacks on northern Israel.
The operation came shortly after Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, rejected a US-brokered ceasefire that would have required the group to withdraw its fighters 30 kilometres from the border. In a televised speech, Nasrallah described the proposal as an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty and a concession to Israeli demands. “There will be no peace at the expense of our land and our dignity,” he said, vowing to continue missile fire until Israel halts its offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The ceasefire deal, which was presented by American and French mediators, would have established a UN-monitored buffer zone and reopened trade routes between Lebanon and Syria. Israeli officials had signalled tentative support for the plan, provided Hezbollah disarmed and the Lebanese military secured the border. But the group’s sweeping rejection now leaves the region teetering on the brink of a broader conflict.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expressed alarm at the escalation. “Any further violation of Resolution 1701 could have devastating consequences for both sides of the Blue Line,” a spokesperson said, referring to the UN-brokered ceasefire that ended the 2006 war. The resolution calls for the disarmament of all armed groups in southern Lebanon, a condition that has never been fully implemented.
Analysts said the diplomatic failure underscores the difficulty of disentangling the Israel-Hezbollah front from the wider Gaza war. For weeks, Hezbollah and allied groups have fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas, while Israel has launched retaliatory strikes deeper into Lebanese territory. The violence has displaced tens of thousands of civilians on both sides and killed more than 300 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also medics and journalists.
“Hezbollah’s calculus is now tied to the outcome in Gaza,” said Rami Khoury, a political analyst at the American University of Beirut. “A ceasefire that leaves Israel free to continue its operation against Hamas is a non-starter for them.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responded to Nasrallah’s rejection by vowing to restore security to the north. “We will not tolerate attacks on our citizens or our territory,” a statement read. “The IDF will continue to operate as necessary, including with force, against any threat.”
Diplomatic efforts are now expected to intensify in a bid to salvage a deal, but the window for a diplomatic solution is narrowing. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Monday that the bloc would “do everything possible” to prevent a full-scale war, which he warned could draw in Iran and other regional actors.
As gunfire echoed across the border overnight, residents of southern Lebanon packed their belongings and fled north. In the village of Qana, a young mother named Fatima told Reuters she had already been displaced three times. “Every time they talk about a ceasefire, the bombs get closer,” she said. “We are tired. We just want to live.”
